


Christmas Advent Fic Series 2020

by LittleSweetCheeks



Category: Madam Secretary
Genre: Family, Ficlets, Fun, Holidays, Multi, friends - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:49:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 27,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27818542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleSweetCheeks/pseuds/LittleSweetCheeks
Summary: A short fic a day for December.
Comments: 101
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Snowed in- White House

“Babe.” Henry didn’t want to interrupt what she was doing, but he really wanted to interrupt what she was doing. He’d been hovering for five minutes in the doorway to the Oval, waiting for her to notice him.

“Hm.” Her soft response was distracted.

“Have you seen outside?”

Elizabeth finally looked up from her desk, first to Henry and then turned to look out the windows. “Look at all that snow.” It hadn’t snowed so much in DC in several years.

Henry crossed to her desk. “They’re advising everyone to stay off the roads. I kicked Jay and Blake out on your behalf a while ago and anyone who doesn’t need to be here has already gone home. It looks like we’re going to be snowed in for Christmas.”

“Oh.” She turned back to him. “Wait, what about the kids?”

He shook his head. “Jason can’t get out either and they cancelled Alison’s flight because of airport conditions here. Stevie was going to try and get here, but I told her not to risk being on the roads.”

“So this is really it. Our first Christmas as empty nesters.”

He pulled her out of her chair. “Well, we have secret service agents and maybe half a dozen other staff who opted to stay because they said they had no family at home anyway.”

“But that’s not the same.” She tipped her face up, welcoming a kiss when he pressed one to her lips.

“I know. But, if you’re done in here, we can head upstairs and find something to keep your mind off things.” He smirked and waggled his brows. He had a few ideas of what they could do with a snowed-in Christmas Eve and Day, most of them involved a crackling fire and very little dressing up.

“I’d love that.” She chuckled her deep, throaty laugh.

Keeping her close, Henry walked them upstairs, opening and shutting the door as they stepped into the sitting room. When she gasped, he smiled. When he realized they’d be snowed in, he’d coordinated adding extra decorations to their private tree. Under it were mountains of gifts.

“Where’d all this come from?” She turned to Henry.

“Well…gifts have been coming in all week. For you mostly. Originally they were going to bring them up tonight for tomorrow morning, but with everyone needing to get home ahead of this snowstorm, I said to just do it early.” He led her to a couch and curled up beside her. “We have anything you could want tonight and it’s just you and I.”

“I want to open something!”

He laughed. “Of course you do.” Despite his original intentions for dragging her upstairs, he let her go as she rummaged through the brightly wrapped gifts. Elizabeth never could wait to open gifts at Christmas, she’d always been worse than the kids. He watched with a smile as she assessed each box, looking at who it was from and then the size or shape before landing on one from Will. When she returned to his arms, he produced a small box of his own. “You should open this one first.” Nothing ever made him happier than shopping for gifts for his wife. He loved being able to still surprise her.

“What’s this?” She passed Will’s gift over and began opening the one from Henry instead. Once the wrapping was gone, she lifted the lid on the jewelry box. Inside was a ring he’d had custom designed. “It’s beautiful, Henry!”

“I had it made, just for you.” He lifted it out and helped her slide it on. “Merry Christmas, Babe.”

She twisted around, pulling him into a kiss. “I think we should go see how it looks in the bedroom.”

“What about the other presents?”

She shrugged one shoulder. “Christmas isn’t until tomorrow anyway.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song- I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas

“Ja-son!” Elizabeth shouted up the stairs.

“You know…” He clomped down a few minutes later. “You could just call me or, like, text or something.”

She huffed. “I am not texting you from inside the same house.”

He rolled his eyes.

“I need to know what you want for Christmas.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, Seriously. I need you to tell me something that’s not expensive and not hard to find.”

“I have a few things… Shouldn’t I just text my list to Blake?” He grinned when she shot a look at him.

“I am buying your gifts myself, thank you very much. So, out with it.”

“Fine.” He sighed dramatically. “A hippopotamus.”

“A…what?” She tipped her head and watched as he started to walk away. “Jason.”

“You’ll figure it out, Mom.” He vanished upstairs.

Elizabeth stared at the stairs until her phone beeped to let her know the motorcade was waiting.

=MS=

Elizabeth crawled into bed beside Henry and rearranged the pillows. “Can you talk to Jason tomorrow?”

“About?”

“What he wants for Christmas.”

He glanced her way. “I thought you did that today.”

“I tried. Your son said he wants a hippopotamus.”

He laughed. “Okay.”

“He wouldn’t give me a real answer.” She huffed.

“It was a real answer, Babe.”

“How?”

“Babe, he’s sixteen.”

“And?”

“And he was telling you it should be obvious what he wants.” He scooted down to face her. “He’s a sixteen-year-old boy, there’s only one thing he wants… A car?”

“Oh.” She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. “A car huh?”

“Yes.”

“That makes sense.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Snowball Fight

“Man, this never gets old.” Everyone looked up from where they’d been watching their footing through the snow at Matt’s words. A wide, contented smile was across his face. They were walking four-abreast across the uncleared sidewalk, kicking snow out of the way as they moved.

“It’s cold it what it is.” Nadine heard Daisy answer, as she caught her pulling her coat tighter. “You really like the snow?” She sounded incredulous.

“Like it? I love it.” Matt beamed. “It’s so beautiful… peaceful. Like a blanket of purity coating the whole world, making it whole and new again.”

“Just had to get the speechwriter started, didn’t you?” Nadine teased as she did her best to keep pace with their long strides as she walked behind them, lagging only enough to take advantage of the path the others were creating through the deepening snow.

“I can’t wait to get home and build Chloe her first ever snowman.” Jay gushed. “She is so cute, toddling around in her little snowsuit.”

“There you guys are!” Elizabeth greeted, walking toward them with her agents around her. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to get out here in time.” Unlike the rest of them, she’d already traded in a formal coat for gear much more suited to the weather.

“Wouldn’t miss it, Ma’am.” Jay’s paternal grin shifted to a professional one. “We were just admiring the snow.”

Elizabeth looked around. “It is beautiful, isn’t it? Peaceful.” She cut off when the others groaned. “What?”

“We only just got Matt to stop waxing poetic about it.” Daisy shivered.

“Ah.” She chuckled.

“What is this, pick on Matt day?” He asked, hanging back a step at a time as the others moved on without him while they laughed.

Nadine slowed her steps as well, watching as Matt knelt, balling up a handful of snow. “That’s an epically bad idea.” She whispered to him, thinking of how the agents might respond to a sudden snow assault.

Matt smirked before turning toward the fading group. “Frank.” He waited for the agent to look back before brandishing the snowball.

When the bigger man nodded, Nadine watched as Matt launched it, not bothering to hide a grin when it exploded against Jay’s back. She so often had to admonish the boys for acting like, well, boys, but a snowball fight never really hurt anyone.

“Hey!” Jay whipped around. “That’s it!” He abandoned any pretense of paying attention still to the Secretary as he scooped up a ball of his own. “You’re going down!” The snowball narrowly missed Matt, who was already making another and launching it through the air where it glanced off Daisy’s shoulder.

Before Nadine knew it, everyone, including the DS agents, were launching snowballs at one another, every man and woman for themselves. Almost without thought, two teams seemed to form with Blake joining Matt and two of the agents on one side while the others defended the other side of the walkway.

When it seemed they were wearing down from the impromptu physical activity, Nadine could feel her cheeks aching from grinning and laughing so hard. Her delighted laughter drew their attention, making them all suddenly realize she was the only one not snowy and damp.

Matt gathered another handful of snow, eyeing her.

Nadine raised a hand to stop him. “Don’t you dare think about it.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song- What Is Christmas? by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. 
> 
> If you have never heard this song, you are majorly missing out.

She’d never done Christmas, not really. Growing up, her parents had taken a hardline on it being a Christian holiday and therefore nothing of it came anywhere near their house and, despite her begging, she’d never been allowed to participate with others.

Her mother had even gone so far as to picking her up from school the days of the class party to bring her home so she wouldn’t be drawn in their either.

Then she’d had Roman and she’d been determined, within her means, to not raise him the same way. But holidays were different as a young, single parent and Nadine never really felt like it was something enjoyable. Once he was old enough to beg off, he abandoned her as well, leaving her to sit home alone on Christmas every year until he was gone from her life.

After that, she was either single and alone or the other woman and alone.

Despite her love for all things wintery and snowy, Nadine had come to hate Christmas.

Five and a half decades of always being the forgotten one, the ignored one, left her frowning at every tree, every twinkling light, every ridiculous cartoon Santa. Not only was she the Dragon Lady, but for a solid six weeks of the year, she became the Grinch as well.

No matter what she promised herself every year, when Thanksgiving approached, her mood turned sour.

=MS=

Nadine frowned, clutching the folder in her arms tight to her chest like a shield as she kept her head held high. It seemed that like clockwork, everyone on the floor forgot she wasn’t deaf as they discussed Christmas plans around her without ever actually _including_ her and while she should be mature enough for that not to hurt… it did.

She’d already been subjected to endless discussions in the break room, the elevators, the halls, of everyone’s travel plans over the holidays. She already knew who was going away with whom and who was all too vocal about not wanting to spend time with their families.

It pissed her off that they could have something so precious as family and complain about it. Why couldn’t they see that they had a gift, people to love who wanted to be with them and celebrate.

Sweeping into the conference room, as usual no one seemed to notice or care that she was there. They probably wouldn’t care if she was gone either. Matt was leaned back in his chair, swinging it side to side as he complained about something his dad had said, receiving commiseration from Jay over how frustrating parents could be. She bit her tongue. She refused to get involved in their lives any more than she already had to be.

Daisy joined them in the room and then Matt and Jay in the conversation, never once looking her way and Nadine felt something approximating a growl rumbling in her chest. Wasn’t Christmas supposed to have some ridiculous meaning of being together with your loved ones? Not complaining they existed?

The whining didn’t end. In fact, it got worse. Jay leapt into the expectation of putting up a big tree for his daughter and standing in line for over an hour to get a photo with Santa that she would, undoubtedly, cry through.

Nadine squeezed her pen, determined to stay out of it.

The Secretary rushed in, Blake on her heels as he often was and without missing a beat, both joined the larger conversation. Apparently there had been some tiff with the kids that morning, because Elizabeth very rarely said anything negative about them, but today apparently was going to be one of those rare times. The whole thing set of Blake, who wasn’t afraid of his disdain for spending any time with his family for any winter holiday, his family apparently did as many as possible ‘for appearances’, he insisted.

It was too much. Everyone had families, had loved ones to spend the day with and not a one of them appreciated it. Nadine didn’t even remember pushing back to her feet and the words were out before her mind caught up with her mouth. “All of you are the most ungrateful, whiny bunch of people I have ever met! Isn’t this damned holiday supposed to be about family and being together? And all the whole lot of you can do is complain about having to spend one day with someone who probably loves you more than anything else in this world!”

The conference room, and some of the outer office beyond, plunged into silence.

Nadine covered her mouth with her hand as horror over her outburst rushed through her veins. She stared, slack jawed, as they all stared back at her.

She could barely breathe. This was why she hated Christmas so much. Everyone acted so irrationally when it was just another damned day like any other.

When air seemed to finally find her lungs again, her muscles took it as a sign it was time to flee. “This is why I hate Christmas. Stupid to pour all this effort into things that no one appreciates or even wants. Complaining about putting up trees and buying presents and eating food…” She was moving to the door now, but for as fast as her feet were getting her out of there, it seemed her mouth wasn’t done. “Should just cancel the whole damned thing.”

Finally, thankfully, she was through the doorway. She fled, there was no other word for it, to her office, gathered her things and, despite it only being midday, headed for her car.

=MS=

It was a chicken thing to do, but she called in sick the rest of the week, opting to sit at home alone and drink the memory of her outburst away. A small part of her was surprised she hadn’t been called out for her behavior, but then again, it was nearly Christmas, everyone had probably gone back to forgetting about her and were spending time with their families.

Tomorrow was Christmas Eve. Everyone in the building would be off for the next two days except her. She would hold down the fort as usual.

Alone.

=MS=

Stepping off the elevator, Nadine paused, looking around. When she’d last been into the office, the lobby had been decked out with evergreen garland, ribbon, and a tree. Now it was… normal. Not a twinkling light or strand of tinsel in sight.

Walking down the silent hall, she couldn’t miss that Matt and Daisy’s office was similarly void of holiday paraphernalia.

She dropped her bags at her desk and weaved through the whole floor. It was all the same. Not a thing. She was well and truly alone and there wasn’t a single morsel of Christmas in sight.

Digging into her work once she returned to her desk, Nadine allowed a few hours to pass before a frustrated sigh forced its way out.

There were no trees, no tinsel, no soft music drifting down the hall with someone casually singing along. Gone were the silly window clings, the presents that got slipped onto desks, the cookies and other treats.

She had well and truly destroyed Christmas. The realization of that… That it seemed they did listen, did notice her, it hit her like a ton of bricks.

And it hurt.

Dropping her pen, she decided they couldn’t have moved the decorations too far away and set off in search of them, dragging them out on her own once she found where they’d been hidden. Slowly, she began redecorating the conference room using supplies that had originally been for the whole floor. It took hours to do as she paused from time to time when she remembered a story one of the staff had shared related to some item or another.

Time passed without her noticing. A waft of gingerbread flitted through her memory and she smiled. In her endless yearning to impress Roman as a child, she’d mastered making gingerbread to build houses, and had even gotten quite artful at building them. She lifted a gingerbread man ornament out of the bottom of the last box and stared at it before standing and hanging it front and center on the tree.

Christmas would be over before anyone came back, but right now, alone; she didn’t care. She was used to being alone. She was used to being alone while surrounded by decorations for a holiday meant for family.

In some ways, she’d not really had a family most of her life. She used to think that not caring meant she was a modern, independent woman. She brushed a tear away as her fingers brushed over the ornament one last time.

“Nadine.” The voice was soft, but she still whirled around in surprise.

In the open doorway stood the Secretary and the rest of the team, all dressed down in jeans and sweaters and wearing heavy coats.

“What are you doing here?” She glanced to the windows; it was dark now. “It’s Christmas Eve. You should all be with your families.”

They exchanged looks among them and then stepped into the room as Elizabeth spoke. “We are.”

Bags and boxes began to be placed on the table. “You’re our family, Nadine.” Daisy approached her once her hands were free. “And Christmas is for family.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mistletoe.... take 1

“He’s found it again.” Matt was already laughing as he came through Jay’s doorway. “He got caught cutting through the Portrait Gallery at the same time as Maggie.”

“Did they kiss?” Jay leaned back, eager to hear how it went this time. Three days into December, Matt had turned up with a festive sprig of mistletoe and an idea- put it somewhere Blake frequented to see how many times he had to kiss someone. What they hadn’t expected was how quickly Blake changed his habits to avoid the mistletoe. It meant that every day or two, they had to move it to a new location to be able to catch him off guard.

“Maggie was cool, Blake was falling over himself apologizing. I don’t think he’s figured out yet that everyone on the floor has caught on to what we’re doing.”

“Probably not. So, where do we move it to now?”

Matt shrugged. “We’re running out of places. I mean, repeating the same spot would probably be fine, he wouldn’t expect that.”

“Do we dare put it closer to his desk?”

“Where were you thinking?”

Jay tapped a pen against the desk a moment. “How about the doorway to the outer office?”

“So long as guests can be off limits. I’m not about to risk an international incident over this.”

“I agree. We’ll get it moved and see how tomorrow goes.”

=MS=

Jay was the first one in the conference room the next morning, opting to skip the elevator ambush in favor of waiting and watching to see how long it took for Blake to get caught again under the mistletoe. He’d already watched most of the seventh floor staff peek at where Matt had hung it, giggling amongst themselves at how hard it would be for Blake to avoid it entirely.

Matt stumbled in looking marginally chastised. Jay was about to ask what happened, but Nadine entered only a few beats behind him.

“You can’t hang it there.” She eyed them both. “You need to move it before we have a problem. I’ve ignored your fun for weeks, but now I’m drawing a line.”

“Aww, come on, Nadine.” Jay started. “It’s just a little Christmas fun.”

“It was, at first. Now you’re both being spiteful. Move it somewhere else. This morning.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” They both muttered just as the others joined them in the conference room.

There had been no time for them to quietly move the mistletoe, however. Russell burst in, ending the meeting abruptly and then the French Foreign Minister was on her way up along with two of her own assistants.

Jay had forgotten entirely that it was even there until the pair of assistants were laughing between themselves, eyes glancing upward. Directly beneath the forgotten sprig, Blake was standing, waiting for the next instruction, beside the Foreign Minister.

“Nadine is going to murder us.” Matt whispered in his ear.

“Nadine? _Blake_ is going to murder us.” Jay sent back. Though he had to agree, if Blake left them alive, after the dressing down they’d gotten that morning, Nadine would finish the job.

The Minister seemed to catch wind of what her aides were saying and looked up, delight overtaking her face. “Mistletoe in the office?”

The Secretary suddenly noticed it for the first time. “I’m sorry. Some of my staff have been enjoying the holiday season just a bit too much.”

“It is okay. Some traditions are very important to keep.” She looked at Blake. “Do you believe in traditions?”

“I, um, yeah. Yes.” He looked up at the greens and then shot a glare at Matt and Jay. “I do.”

“Then perhaps we shouldn’t risk bad luck by not following through on this one.” She seemed to think a moment. “I will tell you what. In the spirit of Christmas, we should do this, even if it was just your coworkers getting too into the holidays.”

“Okay…sure.” Blake was looked everywhere but at her.

“Only if you want to.”

He shrugged. “I’ve been kissed by just about everyone else around here already.” He leaned in, pecking a kiss to her cheek, surprise coloring his features when she returned it by pressing a kiss to either of his.

“See.” She took a step back. “And who says the French and Americans can’t get along?” She laughed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Making Cookies

Henry looked up as Elizabeth stepped off the last step and into the kitchen.

“What’re you doing?” She leaned over the counter.

“Making sugar cookies. Want to help?”

“Me, cook?”

“They’re cookies. I’ll make sure you don’t mess them up.” He caught her hand and tugged her around the counter. “Come here.” He situated her between himself and the counter, guiding her hands into the bowl. “We need to make sure the dough is kneaded together perfectly. Like this.” He kept his hands over hers the whole time. “There we go. Now. We are going to split the dough in thirds.”

“Why?”

“I’m going to leave some plain, make one section green, and the other red. That way we can do simple circles and still be festive.” He helped her separate three balls into different bowls. “We’ll use a spatula for this bit, otherwise we’ll end up with stained hands.”

“Of course.”

Once it was done, Henry moved the bowls to the side and dusted the counter with flour. “now we’re going to roll each ball into a thin strip and put them together. Like this.” He showed her what to do and then let her take over, his hands curving around her waist. “That’s it. When we’re done, the cookies will have nice swirls to them. We’re going to keep rolling and folding until we have a few layers.”

Hands coated in flour, Elizabeth twisted around, cupping his cheeks before kissing him, leaving flowery handprints on his face as she laughed.

“Alright you.” He dropped the dough, tickling her before pulling her close to kiss her again. “Enough of that. We have to get these cookies made if you’re wanting to take them in.”

“I could always buy store bought cookies.”

“This won’t take long, Babe.”

“But we have the house to ourselves.” She bit her lower lip.

Henry looked from her to the dough. “I suppose it will keep for a bit.”

“Good answer, Professor.” She back up to the steps, watching as he dropped the dough into a bowl and shoved it into the fridge. “Come upstairs and show me again some of that kneading.” She offered her hand and began tugging him up the stairs. “Who needs cookies anyway.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song- Baby It's Cold Outside
> 
> Hot. With this song, how could it not be?

It was meant to be just dinner between two single adults with nowhere else to be on Christmas Eve. Just dinner. Nothing else.

Nadine would swear tomorrow that that was the plan. Tomorrow she would insist she was firm in getting home. To her own bed.

Her own, lonely, bed.

She’d have to remember that tomorrow.

Right now it was hard to remember much of anything. Like how she’d been in her coat, a hand on the door, and now she…wasn’t. She was still by the door, sure, but her coat was gone.

As was her hat.

And her scarf.

…Gloves.

… Underwear…

“God, Mike, you’re not going to break me.” She moaned, half in pleasure, half in frustration, at the way his fingers were stroking her. The cold door against her back was a stark contrast to the warm line of his body against her front. “Do it properly or I’ll do it myself.”

He snickered and pushed two fingers into her wet heat, making her gasp as her head hit the door. “Better?”

“Fuck yes.”

They were still both essentially clothed, Nadine had only lost the underwear under her skirt and his pants were opened, boxers tented obscenely. He shifted her weight, hiking her up onto her toes as he held her in place with his groin against her thigh. “You really should just be naked all the time.” His words were murmured it into the thick roll of wool of her turtle neck. He twisted his wrist the slightest bit and she gasped.

“I should be getting home.” It was perfunctory at this point, she had no intention of leaving but if she said the words, then she wouldn’t be lying later.

His thumb circled her clit and she began to rock against his body. Her hands held onto his shoulders and one leg wrapped around his hips and opening her splendidly, making use of the flexibility and range of motion from having been a trained dancer. “It’s cold outside. I can keep you warm.”

She panted hard, close but not quite there yet. “What if people talk.”

“Let them talk.” Her mouth moved from searching for her throat to finding her lips, making her moan. “See, I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Lift me- Let me ride your hand.” She was sure he’d balk at the command, but instantly he shifted he weight, pushing her up the door. Her other leg came up and their weight shifted and suddenly, between his body and the door, she was riding his hand and she couldn’t remember for the life of her why she was insisting she should go home.

Fully dressed, skirt pushed around her hips, riding him like there was no tomorrow and he was still whispering in her ear. “Just stay the night. We can sit by the fire and finish that bottle of red. God, you’re the hottest thing ever… Look at you…”

Against the back of her thigh, she could feel that his boxers were damp now with precome and she suspected it would only take a second for him to explode, but he kept his mouth shut about his own needs. Her eyes were cracked open and she focused on his face, on taking what he’s offered her. His thumb restarted the rolling pressure on her clit and then she’s taught, all hard, arched lines and curves and the muscles around his fingers were pulsing.

“You are magnificent.” He babbled out against her jaw. Their weight shifted again as her body came down and she heard him gasp. She was still too boneless yet to work out how to help him, but she was impressed that he didn’t rush her through her recovery.

Her legs dropped first and then she all but slithered to the floor, tugging his pants down with her and watching as his dick sprang free.

“Not here. Please god let me sit first.” While he begged, eyes closed, she took the opportunity to lose her sweater and bra before wrapping her hands around his thighs. He finally looked down at her touch and his eyes went wide at the sight of her, now half naked, at his feet.

She pushed her lip out in a small pout, looking up at just the right angle to make her look doe-eyed and innocent. “It’s cold. I thought I could warm you up.” Despite the orgasm she just had, now that she was free of her heavy sweater, the chill of the room and being so close to the door had her nipples standing out in hard peaks. Holding his eye contact, she leaned forward, licking the underside of him, root to tip.

He was braced against the door before with one hand and now the second slammed against the door too. “Shit.” The next lick had his hips pushing forward, searching for more as she tried to keep up with his movements. “I’m about a second away. I’m not kidding.” One of his hands slipped down so he could hold the base of his cock, but she pushed it away, instead tangling it into her hair at the back of her head.

There were no words, just another lick and then she wrapped her lips around his cock and started taking him in… and in… and in. She swallowed him down and didn’t miss when he looked down again, this time in shock. Their eyes met and then he was done. She swallowed and then he was coming and couldn’t look away from her taking it all.

When he couldn’t give any more, he started to pull away, slowly because she held his thighs and guided him out. She used the back of one finger to swipe away any lingering moisture from her lips and then she stood. He still hasn’t found words.

“Round two in the bedroom?” She gave him a pleased smirk.

“Uh- yeah. Bedroom’s good.”

On the path to the bedroom, she shed everything else she was wearing until she was crawling naked onto the bed, rolling so she’s staring up at him, knees spread wide. “I’m glad you insisted I stay.” The middle finger of her right hand trailed over her stomach and sank into her wet folds, making her gasp.

“I- I’m glad you stayed.”

She pouted again, fully aware of what it did to him. “Are you going to just stand there and let me get cold again, or are you going to come warm me up?”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretend girlfriend/boyfriend

Alison bounded down the back stairs and into the kitchen, surprised when it wasn’t her mom rattling around putting things away. “Why are you here?”

Halfway between the collection of fabric grocery bags on the counter and the open fridge, Blake looked up. “Your mom got called into the White House and she said she’d promised your dad she’d get everything they needed for the party tomorrow. I offered to do the shopping for her.”

She laughed, rolling her eyes. “Why? Don’t you have more important things to do?”

“I like to be helpful. And… I could see it was bothering her that it wasn’t done.”

Ali reached past him and grabbed a container of yogurt, finding a spoon and leaning against the opposite counter. “It’s Dad’s family coming to town.”

“I know.”

“Aunt Maureen is staying with us for three days.”

He nodded. “She mentioned that too.”

“Did she tell you how much they hate each other?” When he hesitated, but didn’t answer, she laughed again. “If you really like being helpful, you should double check the liquor cabinet. Mom tends to stay a bit tipsy when Aunt Maureen’s around.” At his look of surprise, she shrugged. “Anyway, if you like being so helpful, maybe you could help me with something?”

“Like?”

“All the F&D students have this party off campus for the holidays. Apparently everyone gets really dressed up in things they’ve made and it’s this formal event. There’ve been these couple guys hitting on me all semester and I kind of lied and said I had a boyfriend.”

He stared at her a moment. Then blinked. Then gave a surprised laugh. “No.”

“Why not? Come on, Blake, it’d be one night!”

“I understand that, and still no.” He finished putting the food away and folded the bags, stepping into the pantry and shoving them onto a shelf.

“I just need a boyfriend for one night so they don’t think I’m lying.”

“But you were lying.”

“I don’t want them to know that!”

“You should’ve thought that through before you lied.”

“I thought you liked being helpful.” She crossed her arms. “You bend over backward to help mom and dad.”

“They are my bosses, it’s literally my job.”

“You jump to help Stevie.” When he paused, she grinned. _Bingo._

“Stevie’s… she’s not a dozen years younger than I am.”

Ali shrugged. “You don’t look that much older than me.”

“…Thank you?”

“And, I’m still legally an adult. And it’s not like it’s a real date.”

“Alison…”

“Please, Blake?” She gave adding a slight whine and a bit of a pout a try.

“I’m probably busy, you know. Your mom’s schedule’s crazy this time of year, what with all the galas and dinners between State and the White House and it’s a whole thing when your parents’ schedules don’t line up just right… And that’s without a new crisis popping up every other week.”

“It’s on the nineteenth.” When he didn’t move to check his phone that she knew he never went anywhere without, she pressed. “Aren’t you going to check the date?”

He sighed, pulling it out and scrolling.

“And?”

“And I’m still not doing it, Ali.”

She clapped, bouncing on her toes in glee. “You’re free, aren’t you?”

“…Yes.”

“Please be my fake date?”

“I can’t. I’m sorry.”

Trying one last thing, she smiled at him. “Please be my fake date and I’ll help you get a real one with Stevie?”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mistletoe.... take two

She could hear them giggling up the hall and she rolled her eyes. Christmas cheer was fine, but the younger portion of the team had gone a step further this year, insisting on decorating the offices themselves for a bit of a personal touch. It was kind of hard to keep the image of a stern boss when her wall of windows was coated in dancing gingerbread men.

Or maybe that was their goal after all.

Gingerbread men weren’t all that bad, she supposed. Jay’s windows were covered in elves and Matt and Daisy’s shared office had all assortment of santas. They’d at least toned it down in the Secretary’s office and had stuck to modest snowflakes and snowmen on her windows. Blake, who lacked windows of any kind, had instead decked out his desk with garland and colorful balls. Nadine had honestly expected him to be the most resistant to the whole idea, but as it came together, she saw that maybe she’d been wrong about him. Now, she suspected he was the ringleader behind the entire operation.

Checking to see if there was anything else she needed, Nadine pushed their antics from her mind as she made her way toward the conference room for a meeting. Cutting through the outer office, she paused. The Secretary was just finishing up a meeting in her office and was seeing the person out. “Ready for the next one?” She smiled. “Looks like everyone else is in there.”

Elizabeth nodded. “At least this meeting, no one will yell at me.”

“You hope.” Nadine laughed, walking by her side. In the doorway, the others started making a commotion that had her pausing. “What?”

“Look up.” Matt was wearing a grin.

Nadine obliged, the rolled her eyes again. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She muttered under her breath. “Mistletoe? Really?”

“It’s festive!” He cheered, earning a glare from her. “Come on, Nadine, don’t be a grinch.”

Beside her, Elizabeth seemed to be considering the room. “As the boss, I really should be above such activities.”

“But then _you_ would be the grinch and grinches don’t get Christmas cookies.” Blake lifted a box up that was sitting on his desk, grinning when her eyes lit up.

Nadine looked over as Elizabeth turned her way, mind clearly made up. “Ma’am?”

“It’s just a silly tradition.” She smirked. “No harm, right?” She closed the space between them. “I think for the next few seconds, you should drop the ‘ma’am’, don’t you?”

Nadine arched a brow, glancing toward the others out of the corner of her eye. “All in?”

Elizabeth shrugged one shoulder. “Sure. Why not.” Her hands landed gently on Nadine’s shoulders and then slipped to her neck, fingers of one creeping into her hair. “All in.”

She drew a breath. It was a ridiculous holiday tradition, but the looks were about to be worth it. Holding Elizabeth’s shoulder with one hand and cupping her cheek with the other, Nadine brought their lips together, hesitantly at first but quickly deepening the kiss, making it linger until the room was silent. She cracked her eyes open and felt Elizabeth do the same and slowly they parted, staying nose to nose for a beat before she couldn’t hold back a grin.

Pulling back another inch, Nadine was reminded that she and Elizabeth wore different colors of lipstick and now, if Elizabeth’s lips were any indication, they both were wearing a mix of the two.

“They’re still stunned silent.” Elizabeth whispered, followed by a small giggle. “We broke them.”

Nadine smirked. “So young and vanilla they are.” In tandem, they both looked into the conference room at the four other members of the team as they stood and sat in shock. “Happy?”

They still hadn’t moved their hands, were still embracing one another as if they might resume the kiss at any moment. Finally, Nadine dropped her hands away first and once their connection was broken, it seemed the others came back to life, bumbling and trying to cover their shock and stunned silences.

Deciding the moment was over, both women rounded the table and took their seats, surprised when Blake appeared between them, dropping tissues on the table. They both looked up as he feigned confidence. “Lipstick. I think… You just both need to start over.” He turned on his heel and returned to his desk.

=MS=

The meeting ended with Mike B turning up unannounced to discuss something with Elizabeth, sweeping her out of the room as everyone else gathered their things to leave. She was thankful no one dared bring up the kiss, but a tiny part of her, the part that’s had a crush on her boss for quite some time, was thankful for the innocent excuse to do so.

She’d carried all her things back to her own desk before noticing she’d left her reading glasses. Turning back, she frowned when Mike B was hovering in the doorway. “What do you need, Mike?”

“For you to come tell me something.”

“About?”

“Mistletoe.”

“Mike…”

“Come on, Nadine! It’s Christmas! Kissing under the mistletoe is a Christmas tradition.”

She scoffed at him. “No.”

“Why not? It’s one kiss. For Christmas.”

“I’m Jewish. I’m exempt.” She brushed past him in search of her glasses.

“You’re- What?”

“I am Jewish.” She said it slowly. “No Christmas.”

“But-”

She brushed past him a second time. “So, no kissing.”

“What about earlier?” There was confusion and a small amount of desperation in his tone.

She turned around, walking backward. “I can still give presents to my friends. It was a- uh, present.” She turned away again.

He muttered a reply that she barely caught. “Could give me a present like that.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise Celebration- Hanukkah Celebration

“It starts at four, so we will want to be out of here by a quarter to three at the latest. The gates open at three.” Daisy pointed out to Jay and Matt. “The Secretary already dealt with her detail and we’re all riding over together.”

“How are we getting them out the door without knowing?” Jay had to ask. “Aren’t they going to know something’s up?”

She shrugged. “We’re going with ‘situation at the White House’.”

“That needs all six of us?”

“Look, I didn’t come up with the excuse.” She put her hands up. “Take it up with the Secretary if you have a better idea. But we have a lot to get done before we have to leave.” The guys started to stand. “Oh, Matt? Would you remember to get hot cocoa when we get over there? It’s cold out and we’ll want something to keep warm.”

“Sure. Not a problem.”

Daisy watched them leave, thinking to herself that they only had to keep the plan under wraps for a few more hours.

=MS=

Daisy ducked into the Secretary’s office just after two thirty. “Are we still all systems go?”

“I believe so. I haven’t publicized that I’m going, obviously, but do you think I should have something in mind to say just in case it becomes a big thing?”

Daisy’s brows went up. “You should discuss that with Matt and Jay. Quickly. They’re wrapping up and I’m done already. It wouldn’t hurt to be early. Want me to send in Nadine and Blake?”

“Um, yes. Send Nadine in first, I think a surprise attack will be better with Blake.”

She laughed. “I’m leaving that up to you. I’ll send Nadine in.”

“Thank you.” Elizabeth finished putting her things in her bags, looking up when Nadine breezed in. “Good, you’re here. We had something come up at the White House, could you gather your things and meet me at the elevators within the next ten minutes?”

“Of course.”

“And… Bundle up?” She fumbled that bit but did her best to cover. “Russell mentioned they’re having issues with the heating again.”

“Oh. Of course. I’ll be ready.”

“Thank you.” She’d never before been so thankful for the White House’s occasional heating issues.

Ten minutes later, Elizabeth passed Blake’s desk. “Get your things, I need you to come with me.”

“Where?”

“Out.” She gestured urgently. “Come on. Coat, bag, everything. Let’s go.” The rest of the staff were going to meet them in the garage, so the pair didn’t have enough time to question things. She hoped they were already in an elevator heading down.

“What’s this about?” He rushed to do as she’d bid. “Is it China again, because it would really be nice if they would decide to take the holidays off.” She let him rant, deciding he was doing a good enough job at creating his own sense of urgency.

“I’ll meet you by the elevators.” She started down the aisle.

“I’m coming.” He raced after her, catching up by the time she arrived at the doors where Nadine was already waiting. “Nadine too?”

“I was told all hands on deck.” Elizabeth excused. “So I am bringing all hands.”

“Right.”

The ride down was quiet and in the garage Elizabeth discovered that the other three had already sequestered themselves into the last SUV where they wouldn’t be noticed. Beside her, Blake and Nadine chatted about China and she listened passively. It was a short drive to their end goal and the pair looked out the windows in surprise when the SUV stopped.

“What’s this?” Blake asked.

She turned to the both of them. “We’re here for the lighting ceremony. I just- I overheard the two of you talking two weeks ago about how with it being at four on a weekday, you’ve never had the opportunity to come and it sounded like you really wanted to.” Opening the door, she climbed out and waited for them to follow. “So we decided to surprise you with a bit of a field trip to see the lighting.”

“I just… This means so much.” Nadine stuttered, clearly at a loss for words. “Thank you.”

“We spend the whole month decking every inch of the place out with Christmas decorations and playing Christmas carols and everything else and we overlook every year a holiday that is important to a third of our team.” She leaned in close to her. “Henry has spent two weeks drilling every possible thing I could need to know about this into my head.” She looked between them. “As it stands now, I’m not here in any official capacity. I’m just here as a friend who wants so much to support two other friends in something they consider important. Soo…” She turned to the other three. “I heard there is food and Daisy said Matt was going to be getting something warm for us to hold.”

“Right.” Matt nodded. “I’ll go do that now.”

Daisy fell into step with Jay as they began to walk. “I was told the food is that way, we should probably head there first.” She watched the others all turn when the band started up with a song she didn’t recognize. There were people everywhere and while the detail weren’t thrilled about it, they were doing their best not to limit where they walked. Daisy and Jay were side by side only strides ahead of the Secretary and Nadine, with Blake trailing behind. It was from extensive practice that the habit had developed to all stay within the perimeter the boss’s security detail wanted maintained. That they circled her, creating an additional layer of boundaries, didn’t hurt either.

As they neared the tents boasting about donuts and latkes, Matt caught back up with them, passing out hot drinks for them to hold and sip. “What’d I miss?” He fell into step on the Secretary’s other side.

“Nothing yet.” Daisy answered. “We’re just about to eat.”

“Oo! Food!”

Four o’clock approached and as the mass of crowd grew, their circle tightened physically as well as more socially. Daisy found herself with a hand through Jay’s arm as they listened to Blake and Nadine talk about festivals and traditions they’d both grown up with. The temperature was already beginning to drop as they found the space the detail had already established as theirs and when Daisy looked back, the Secretary had Matt’s arm in much the same manner. They had a partial tent, meant for security purposes, but it also provided some reprieve from the wind.

She stood, listening to the speaker talk about the Menorah and about the holiday and then Daisy watched as they lit the first candle, tears coming to her eyes. She sensed when Nadine appeared at her side. “This is beautiful.”

“It is. It’s a beautiful holiday and… this is beautiful.”

“So, good surprise?”

“Yes. Good surprise.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song- I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

Jay ducked into the small space between Daisy and Matt, sipping on a cup of fruit punch as he joined them in taking in the ballroom. The entire room was teaming with people, with families, staff of the State Department, their spouses, and children. It was the annual holiday celebration, an evening to kick back and be social.

Finally, the pair realized he was with them and turned, Matt asking the most obvious question. "Where'd Chloe go?"

Jay gave him a lopsided grin. "Nadine took her. Something about making crafts, I was told not to ask and to not go looking for them. That was about ten minutes ago before Nadine carried her off."

"She's going to fill her with cookies, you know." Daisy pointed it out while nibbling one of her own. 

"I know. But she looked so happy."

"Which one?" She arched a brow at him.

Jay shrugged. Honestly, they both had looked pretty thrilled to go get up to whatever they were about to do. Chloe never hesitated to trail after Nadine at every opportunity and Nadine always took the time to give her extra attention. Tonight, both decked out in similar Christmas plaids as if it'd been planned, they'd wore matching smiles. "Both of them." He looked around the immediate area. "Did we lose Blake already? He swore he'd stay."

"Oh. No. He's here." Daisy shook her head. "And he is staying, one of the musicians has to leave early, so he's pitching in later. He even swore he'd skip dipping into the special punch tonight."

Jay stared at his cup. "I want special punch."

Matt slapped his back. "Sorry, man." 

Side by side, they watched quietly for a while as kids ran between tables, rushing from craft station to craft station. Every once in a while, they'd catch sight of a member of the rest of their team. Elizabeth worked the room as always, tonight relaxed and enjoying herself for once, Blake popped up from time to time in a conversation with someone or at a craft table holding court with a small group of kids. Nadine finally crossed the room once, Chloe still in her arms and what looked like a smear of paint on her cheek.

In the far corner sat Henry, dressed as a relatively convincing Santa, exuberantly greeting each child with Maggie, Nadine's assistant, quietly pulling a Blake and whispering to him names so 'Santa' greeted each child as if he knew them already. It made a convincing show.

"You know what. I'm ready for that punch. Let's go." Daisy nudged the guys toward an exit. "Jay, you get some too." In the hall, she led the way to the side room they'd claimed that afternoon for their gear and for the security agents to use as their base point. Digging out the bottle, she filled fresh cups and passed them out.

Jay took a swig and gasped. "Holy shit! Who made this?"

Matt laughed. "Blake."

"Is there any punch in this? It's like straight vodka!"

"He might've gotten creative as he was mixing. Pretty sure it's more than just vodka."

"We'll die."

"Maybe, but it'll be a merry Christmas." Daisy toasted her cup and took a sip, pulling a face herself. "Damn. We can not let the Secretary get to this." They all laughed. When it was just the inner circle, the drunk version of their boss was tons of fun, but in mixed company like tonight, it was better to keep her away from the hard stuff.

"Or Nadine." Matt added. The Secretary got giggly and silly, but their other boss somehow got more quiet, her deadpan wit sharper, and her filter vanished entirely. "Yo, guys." Matt got their attention and pointed through the open doorway. At the end of the hall, out of sight of anyone but them, stood Santa and the Secretary wrapped in one another's arms, lips locked together.

"Isn't there a song about this?" Jay joked, laughing when Matt started singing it. The kiss carried on and they eventually shifted their attention away, giving them some privacy.

=MS=

"Hey. Did you see Blake has Chloe now?" Daisy stumbled, crashing into Jay's side as she tried to stay upright. The three of them were still occupying a corner together, holding up their end of the deal with the Secretary to stay to the end, just a bit more drunk. 

"Where?" He squinted at his watch, trying to bring the face into focus. "Didn't you say he was singing or something soon?"

"I think so." She pointed across the room. Sure enough, Blake was winding through the tables, Chloe perched on one arm. "He's coming this way."

"Crap." Before he could figure out what to do about their obvious state, Blake was to them, brows shooting to his hairline.

"You all are drunk." He frowned, turned toward the musicians, and then back again. "Really? With your daughter here?"

"Nadine had her. Where'd she go anyway?"

"She had something to take care of, she said. It's why I took Chloe off her hands."

"Give her here." He put his hands out.

"In your condition?" 

"I'm fine, Blake."

He was already shaking his head though. "I'm only singing. I'll take her up with me, but you owe me."

"I'll remind you that you made the punch. It was good, thank you."

"Go find coffee...all of you." He waved toward the door to the hall before turning away, Chloe still in his arms. Somewhere between them and the small stage, she gained a pair of antlers and a fuzzy red nose as well.

"We should do as we're told." Jay pushed to his feet, leading Daisy and Matt out again. 

"Do they ever stop?" Matt asked before freezing, making the others crash into him. "Oh my…"

"God…" Daisy finished.

At the end of the hall stood Santa again. Only this time he wasn't wrapped up with the Secretary in his arms.

"Mommy is definitely not the one kissing Santa Claus now." Jay mused. "Should we say something?"

"There is no way in hell I'm saying something. I learned my lesson." Daisy adamantly shook her head. "I would rather finish that bottle of punch and die than tell anyone this."

"They're not even coming up for air." Matt's eyes hadn't pulled away. "Don't they care that she could come through here any minute?"

"There are so many things I can't wrap my head around." Jay paused, his voice lowering. "I mean, maybe I could see Nadine… She has had at least one affair before…"

"But the Doc?" Matt questioned. "No way."

"Hey guys!" The Secretary's cheerful greeting made them all whip around, stumbling over their greetings as she took a step back at the overwhelming smell of alcohol on their breaths. "Wow! You guys found Blake's punch then. What's going on?"

"Nothing, Ma'am." Jay tried his best to start walking her back into the ballroom. "Nothing at all. Why don't we go listen to Blake sing."

"No, I- I was looking for Henry."

"I'll find him for you." Daisy offered.

"You guys are acting weird, even for being a bit drunk." She leaned in. "When I said you needed to be here, I kind of meant sober, you know."

"We're very sorry." Matt had a hand on her back now, doing his best to subtly lead her with Jay still on her other side.

"Wait." She turned back quickly. "I wanted to be sure Henry found what he was looking for first." She managed to get past all three of them and into the hall fully before they could react. 

The three of them watched and waited as their boss stared a moment at the pair making out at the far end of the hallway. At Nadine with her hands lost somewhere under Santa's fake beard. They watched and waited for all hell to break loose in one form or another.

They didn't not expect to hear her laugh.

"Nadine!" When her Chief of Staff broke away, wiping along her lips for any smeared lipstick, the Secretary started down the hall. "I see you tried out my theory on kissing Santa being all it's cracked up to be."

"Who would've thought she'd have a thing for a dude in a red suit." Santa laughed.

Santa that didn't have Henry's voice at all.

Santa that sounded a lot like Mike B.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song- Christmas Shoes
> 
> It's a sad one. Sorry.

Blake checked his watch again with a frustrated huff. He hated shopping at Christmas. He hated the crowds and the noise and how unfriendly everyone got. The only reason he was out now was because he’d given in and agreed to pick up the gift Elizabeth wanted to mail to Nadine, who’d moved to California the month before. It’d given him the opportunity to pick up something from himself that he’d slip in the same shipping box, so they’d arrive together.

Shifting the two items to his left arm, Blake dug out his phone. At least he could scan through a few emails and sort them to be read later while he waited in line.

As he scrolled, he blocked out everyone around him, at least that way no one would try and make small talk. He didn’t even notice the boy pacing small circles ahead of him until the boy stepped on his foot, jumping back with a look of fright and a trembled apology.

“It’s…” Blake looked him over, not avoiding a frown. “It’s okay.” He looked around but no other adult seemed to be taking any notice of the boy. “Where’s your parent?”

The boy shrugged. “It’s just my mom and me.” He mumbled it to the floor.

“And where is she?”

“Home. She can’t leave home now.” The boy lifted the box in his hands a bit. “I just wanted to buy her this for Christmas, so I walked here on my own.”

“It’s a bit busy for a kid to be shopping alone. How old are you?”

The boy looked up finally, blue eyes shining bright. “Ten. I’m old enough to look after myself. Ten isn’t a baby.” His voice was defensive and upset.

“You’re right.” He tried to calm him down. “Ten isn’t a baby.” An uneasy feeling settled in his chest and despite his desire to just have some peace, Blake put out his hand as if this boy who was little more than half his height was some dignitary worthy of his full respect. “My name is Blake.”

The boy eyed him warily before reaching out and shaking his hand. “Johnathan.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He couldn’t help the smile that appeared at the way Johnathan responded to that. “So, you think your mom will like this jewelry box, huh?”

He nodded. “She talks about how she always wanted a pretty one and I’ve been saving money from helping the neighbors do chores and I finally got enough.”

“So, why can’t she leave the house?”

Johnathan clammed up, only shrugging as he stared at the box in his hands.

Blake knelt down so he could see his face. “If I showed you something, do you think you would trust me?” Blue eyes flicked up to him and then away again. “I bet you’re a good reader, right?”

The boy nodded.

Blake dug into his pocket and pulled out the leather sleeve holding his work ID. “Do you know what this says?”

Johnathan took in, his eyes scanning the words. “This has a seal like for the government.”

“That’s right. My job is to help people, grown ups, kids, all over the world. I help make sure the bad people can’t hurt the good people.”

Jonathan arched a brow at him, suspicion lacing the gesture. “You mean like a super hero?”

Blake laughed. “Kind of, I guess. But I had to go through a lot of tests to be sure I was good enough before I could get this badge. So… Can you tell me why your mom can’t leave the house?”

“There’s no bad person.” He shook his head. “My dad went away a few years ago and never came back and my mom… She was going to a doctor all the time, but they said they wanted her to move into the hospital, but she wanted to take care of me, so she told them no. I’m glad she decided that, but she’s tired a lot and can’t leave the house now. I just want her to be happy again because all she does now is cry and hug me all the time.”

The line moved and Blake stood, taking his badge back and putting it away. “That’s very nice of you to do, to want to do something nice for your mom.”

“It’s my job to take care of her. I take care of everything just like she showed me.”

“Everything?”

He nodded. “I can do laundry and cook food. Well, not a lot of food, but I can feed myself. My mom doesn’t really eat much, not anymore. But I still try and get her to.”

The line moved again and it was Johnathan’s turn to put the jewelry box on the counter as he began to pull a handful of bills and coins out of his pocket. Behind them, Blake could hear the other shoppers already begin to grumble and he felt guilty that any other day, he’d be grumbling too.

The cashier frowned but made no move to help begin to count the money. After several moments of watching Johnathan try and sort and count it, Blake stepped up, setting his own purchases to the side. “Want some help?” When the boy nodded, Blake gathered the bills first, sorting them and then counting quickly before moving on to the coins. “There’s not enough here.” He softly told him.

Johnathan’s eyes began to water. “Oh. I- I really wanted to give her it. I- I don’t know what to do, it’s- it’s the smallest one like that they had.”

The uneasy feeling that had settled in his chest earlier turned into a squeeze of sympathy. “It’s okay. We’ll get your mom the jewelry box.”

“How?” He blinked up, causing tears to slip free.

Blake pushed the two boxes he’d been holding over to the cashier. “Add these to it please.” The cashier nodded as Blake pulled out his wallet, swiping his credit card in the machine. Once the boxes were bagged, Blake guided Johnathan toward the exit. “Here you go.” He handed the bag holding the jewelry box over. “Gifts for moms all purchased.”

“Thank you. Your things were for your mom too?”

“Kind of.” At the boy’s odd look, he smiled. “I have a friend who is a lot like a mom to me. She doesn’t live around here anymore.”

“Oh. That’s nice of you.” Johnathan looked toward the doors and out into the snow. “Well, I have to go walk home now. Thank you for helping me.”

“Sure.” Blake watched him walk out into the cold before sense seemed to dawn on him. “Wait, Johnathan. How about I drive you home?”

The boy’s wary gaze returned. “I don’t know you.”

 _Smart kid_ , he thought to himself. “It’s really cold out. You could get sick and then you couldn’t take care of your mom.”

After a minute, he nodded. “Okay.”

“My car is this way; you can tell me how to get to your house.” He led the boy across the parking lot, finding his phone again to send a message that he’d been delayed and would touch base soon.

It turned out Johnathan didn’t live far from the store, only a few miles, so the drive was short. Parked out front, Blake followed, carrying the bag as Johnathan let them both into the dim apartment as he called out for him mom. “She’s in her bedroom. She doesn’t really go to the other rooms anymore.”

What Blake could see of the apartment was tidy enough, if perhaps slightly dingy. There was definitely an attempt being made to keep it clean and he could gather that any cleaning being done was happening by a ten-year-old’s inexperienced hands. “I’d like to introduce myself so she doesn’t worry about you talking to a stranger.” It was a small fib, but he wanted to be sure Johnathan was going to be okay.

“Okay.” He turned and Blake followed, watching as he pushed a door open and crossed to the bed, crawling up.

When the woman slowly rolled over at her son’s voice, Blake’s heart sank to his feet. “Hello. My name is Blake Moran, I drove your son home from the store.”

She grimaced and struggled to push more upright, gasping with every movement. “Thank you.”

He looked to the boy. “Could I have something to drink?” Johnathan nodded and scrambled away. Once he was gone, Blake turned back to her. “How long do you have left?”

Understanding crossed her face and then morphed to sadness. “Weeks, maybe.”

“Your son doesn’t know.” That much was obvious.

“No. I don’t want him to worry about what will come next.” She coughed. “I’m all he has left.”

“He said his father disappeared.”

A sad smile appeared. “When Johnathan was four, his father was killed. It’s just been Johnathan and I ever since. We don’t have any other family.”

“Was it an accident?”

She shook her head. “Roadside bomb from what I was told.”

He felt his jaw begin to drop. “He was in the military.”

“He was a Marine. I don’t think Johnathan even knows or remembers his dad was a soldier. It hurt too much to talk about it. He’d agreed to be assigned to some… something or other, I never understood it. And he never came back.”

Blake listened closely to what she didn’t say. He’d been around military spouses through work and sometimes that life of a military spouse made them jaded to things that happened. Often, it was to cover the great amount of pain that grief left behind. “And- and you?”

“Cancer. Treatments weren’t a sure thing and I didn’t want him to go into foster care while I wasted away in a hospital. He needs me here for as long as I can be.”

“But there are no social services involved? No one to help you or to look in on him?”

“No. I don’t want them to take him away.”

“What about after… What about in a few weeks?”

“I don’t know.”

His phone beeped and he pulled it out, checking the screen. It was Elizabeth asking if everything was alright. “Let me help you. I have contacts, you can keep him and have the care you need.”

“I don’t want to lose my baby.”

“I know.” He cut off what else he was going to say as Johnathan came back in. “You won’t, okay?” He gestured to the main room. “I’m going to make a call.” There were still options that could help and people out there who would be willing to make the cogs turn at the speed she needed.

He could see the resignation in her face, she didn’t really have a choice in the matter and seemed to not have much of any fight left in her. “You promise?”

“Yes. I promise.”

He stepped back into the living room and skipped responding just yet to Elizabeth. She could probably help him with some things, and would be mildly annoyed being ignored, but there was someone far more qualified he could reach out to instead. “Hey, Henry…”

=MS=

Blake opened the apartment door to let Henry in, surprised when he found Elizabeth at his side.

“Henry filled me in.” Her voice was soft. “Where are they?” Blake was never more thankful that the McCords never kept secrets from one another.

“In the bedroom. The boy is Johnathan, his mom is Sherry. He… she hasn’t told him she’s dying. I just, I figured there had to be medical benefits through the military for her?” He turned back to Henry, hopeful there was something they could do for this little family that was about to be torn apart.

“There are. I looked up her husband and got the information on benefits she’s entitled to. I can get a work around on anything else.” Henry nodded. “I’ve already made some calls up to and including Gordon. We’ll get something done.”

Blake frowned. “But what about the boy?”

Elizabeth gave his arm a gentle squeeze. “I’ve been making some calls as well. First, how about you introduce us to her?”

“Sure.” He led them down the short hall, tapping on the door before stepping in. “My friends are here that can help with everything you need. For both of you.” He stepped out of the way. “Sherry, this is Henry McCord, he’s retired Marines and then, uh, his wife Elizabeth. Secretary McCord.” As they stepped in, Blake turned to Johnathan. “How about you show me your room while they talk?”

“Okay.” The boy slid off the bed and showed Blake his room, telling him all about the books he’d been reading and the things he was into.

An hour and a half passed before Elizabeth appeared in the doorway, motioning for him to step out.

“And?” He whispered once they were far enough away from Johnathan’s room.

“And… we talked to the doctor she’d been seeing over the phone and they want her to come in, but best guess based on the last time they saw her is she has a few weeks at most.”

“That’s… that’s right around Christmas.” What a horrible time for all of this to happen. He would forever associate the Christmas season with losing his mother.

“I know. I talked her into going in today and being seen. Henry pulled some strings and a medical transport is on its way.”

“Will she be able to come back home?” If Johnathan was only going to have his mother for a few more weeks, then, to Blake’s mind, he should get to have her.

“I don’t know, Blake.”

“She wants to be with her son. We can’t separate them this close to Christmas. And where’s he going to go while she’s there today?”

He watched her shrug as she frowned. “He’ll probably go to a foster home, at least for a day or two. They handle emergency temporary placements.”

“No. They can’t do that.” He shook his head.

“Blake… there’s no other choice.”

“There has to be another way.” He fisted his hands in frustration. “It’s Christmas, Elizabeth. Please.”

=MS=

Blake trudged through the hospital halls. It was Christmas morning. Around the last corner, he found Johnathan seated alone in a chair in the hall, his head down as his slight body shook.

The call had come through an hour earlier. She’d made it to Christmas, only just. The foster placement had brought the boy to the hospital, but they’d had their own household still full of kids wanting to do presents and Johnathan hadn’t wanted to be there anyway.

“Hey, Kiddo.” Blake had gone to see Johnathan every day, acting as a shuttle to and from the hospital so he knew he would get to see his mother as much as possible. That, like this now, broke a lot of official rules, but his status seemed to help bend them.

When the boy looked up, Blake couldn’t miss the way his face was red and puffy from crying. “My- My mom…”

“I know.” Johnathan launched himself at Blake and he held him tight as he cried again. “I know.” He was attached and couldn’t help feeling his sorrow.

“My mom died! I didn’t give her the present!” He wept.

“Shh. It’s okay. You can- you can still give it to her. I promise, there are still ways.” He led the boy back to the chairs. “Have you gotten to say goodbye yet?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Okay. How about we do that, hm? I know it’s hard and you’re sadder than you can explain, but it’s important to get to say goodbye.” He waited for Johnathan to nod before stepping away to get details of where they could see his mom one last time.

Once he’d watched the boy say his goodbyes, Blake began to lead him away from the now empty room. “Today you get to hang out with me, okay?” It had been a last-minute decision and he hoped Johnathan wouldn’t mind.

“Really? Don’t you have family to be with?”

“No. It’s just me and normally I don’t do Christmas, but today you and I are going to figure it out.” He guided him to his car in the parking structure. “We could go visit a few friends of mine, some have kids and some don’t, it’s up to you, but first we are going to go to where I work and one other place.”

“Why?”

Blake smiled. “There are a couple people I want you to meet and who want to meet you.” He popped the locks on the car. “Hop in.”

He did his best to keep Johnathan talking as he drove through the city. The boy didn’t seem to take any notice of their surroundings until they pulled up to a guarded gate and Blake held out his badge before they were waved through. “Wait. This is the White House.”

“I know.” He didn’t add any explanation as he parked and then guided Johnathan inside and through the building. “This way.”

“Where are we going?”

“How would you like to sit at the desk in the Oval Office?”

“Wait? I can do that? You can take me in there?”

“Sure.” Blake nodded, leading past Lucy’s empty desk, opening a door and ushering him into the empty room. “Here we are.”

“Woah.” Johnathan turned in a slow circle. “It really is oval.” His sorrow was temporarily forgotten.

“Have a seat.”

“Have- have you ever sat behind the desk?”

“Not this one. I’ll get my chance eventually, I’m sure. I sit behind the one at the State Department a lot.” Blake crossed the room and tugged the chair back. “Sit.”

Johnathan sat, taking in the whole room, not noticing the doorway they’d come through was no longer empty. “This is where everything happens?”

“It is. My boss, that you met, she comes in here all the time.”

“And who is this in my chair?” A voice finally came through the door, making Johnathan snap to his feet in surprise.

“S- sorry, Sir!”

“It’s okay, take a seat.” Dalton waved with his hand for the boy to sit again. “Blake here said he’d be bringing you by. I thought I’d come down and share how sorry I am that your mother died.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

“I know it’s a hard thing to go through, especially at Christmas, but there are a lot of people who will support you if you need anything.”

Johnathan nodded.

“Well, I need to be headed back upstairs.” He turned to Blake. “You have a merry Christmas.”

“You too, Sir.” Once they were alone, Blake checked his watch. “Well, we need to be getting to our next stop.”

“Okay. Where are we going?”

“Where I work.” Blake led him back to the car and guided it to the office, finding his parking spot and climbing out again. On the seventh floor, he took the boy on a quick tour before stopping for drinks and then to the SVTC room. “Take a seat down here.” He turned on the monitor. “We have a few minutes and I want to talk to you about something.”

“Like what?”

“Like where you’re going to live now.”

“Can I live with you?”

He’d feared, with the way the past few weeks had been going, that Johnathan would ask that. “No, for a few reasons. Not because I don’t want you, but because it wouldn’t be what’s best for you. But… I might have another solution. My friends have been talking to the people who make these kinds of decisions and since we knew your mom was going to pass away, they asked some important questions about where you should go.”

“I don’t have any family. It was just Mom and me… Now it’s just me.”

“I know. And ultimately it is up to you, but we came up with an option that would mean you wouldn’t have to go to foster care and wait for a family to pick you. And… we could still talk and you could tell me about school and things. Maybe we could hang out from time to time.”

“What is it? You found a family already?”

“Kind of.” The phone beeped and Blake reached across, pressing a button on the remote to connect the video call. As a face appeared on the monitor, Blake carried on what he’d been about to say to Johnathan. “You’re used to it just being you and your mom, so I thought you might be okay with having just a mom again. She has experience raising boys.”

The person on the screen chuckled.

Johnathan looked from Blake to the screen. “Bigger boys, cause I’m not a baby.”

They nodded. “Boys as big as Blake there. Merry Christmas, Blake. How is DC?”

“Cold. Wonderful. It finally snowed.” He landed a hand on Johnathan’s shoulder. “This is Johnathan. And this is my friend Nadine. How is California?”

“Warm. It’s the same weather all year.” She sighed. “Today I miss the snow.”

“Only today?”

“I miss a white Christmas. The rest of the time it’s a nuisance.” She shrugged with a smile before shifting the mood. “I heard about your mom, Johnathan. I am very sorry.”

“Thanks.”

“I know you’ve really liked getting to know Blake this month. And you’re worried about not getting to see him anymore.”

“I wish he could take me.”

“I know. But there might be a solution where you can still talk to him a lot.”

“Like what?”

“You could live with me.”

“What?”

“I talked to your mom before she died and, if you and I get along, it can be made official. I still have an apartment there. Tomorrow I’m going to fly back and meet with some people who handle things like this, so for tonight, unfortunately, you’d have to go back with the family you’ve been staying with, but… we can start to get to know one another. Blake was right, I have a lot of experience raising boys.”

“She’s a pretty good boy mom.” Blake added in, making her laugh.

Johnathan was quiet a minute before nodding. “Yeah, okay. I guess it’s better than waiting for another person to want me.”

Blake studied him a moment before jumping in. “Johnathan, do you remember the way to the room with the snacks?” He watched him nod. “There’s candy in the fridge, why don’t you go get some.”

“Okay.” He stood and left.

Once they were alone, Blake looked up at the screen. “My heart keeps breaking for him.”

“Of all the days…” She trailed off. “I already talked to Roman and Shindy. I guess it’s fortuitous that my place here is already two bedrooms like my place there. I was going to sell the one in DC, but maybe now I’ll keep it so we can visit more often.”

“He- he never got to give her the present he bought for her.” He shared.

Her hand came up over her mouth. “The poor thing.”

He nodded. “He cried pretty hard earlier. Thank you for doing this. I couldn’t fathom him going into the system after seeing what he’d been going through.” He sighed. “I’m glad it might all work out.”

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I’ll meet you at the airport, no argument.”

“Okay, bye.”

“By Nadine.” He disconnected the call, turning when Johnathan returned.

“Is she gone?” He sounded almost sad about that.

“Yes.”

“She really wants to be my new mom?”

“If you want her to be. She started looking into how to make it work almost as soon as we called her.”

“…Do you- Do you think she likes jewelry boxes?”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ice skating

“Ali!” Stevie screeched, laughing as she did her best not to fall on the ice as her sister rushed by. “Too close!”

Alison laughed, turning and gliding backward. “How are you not better at this?” She looked around at where the rest of the family was skating in loops around the rink. “We go every year!”

“I just… I just prefer solid ground is all.” She kept trying to stay upright and moving forward, screeching again when her parents skated by, hand in hand, ducking as their hands went over her. “Guys!”

“Come on, Stevie.” Her dad encouraged. “You can do it. If you move faster, it’s easier.” He slid to a stop, pulling Elizabeth close for a quick kiss. “Come on, Babe, lets show her how it’s done.”

Stevie watched them make another loop as she slowly kept on. A voice cheerfully calling out from the benches made her turn, nearly falling over.

“Hey, guys!” She heard her mom call out to part of her staff. “You made it!”

“We did.” Jay carefully stepped onto the ice, helping Chloe with her little skater balance frame.

“And you brought Chloe!” Elizabeth squealed.

Behind him, Stevie watched as Matt and Daisy stepped onto the ice, skating off hand in hand. Turning back, she had to toss her arms out to keep her balance, but managed not to fall. Skating was a family tradition, but she’d never mastered it. She blocked out everyone talking as she kept up her slow pace around the rink.

Hands grabbed her elbows, pushing her from behind and sending her rushing forward with a fresh screech, but she didn’t crash to the ice. The person turned loose, spinning to not just glide, but properly skate backward as they took her wrists instead, pulling her along with them. “I’ve got you, don’t look at your feet.”

She looked up. “Blake! What the hell? We’re going too fast!”

He laughed. “We’re fine. You’re fine. It’s just like dancing, follow how I move.” Her eyes went back to the ice. “No, up here. Look up at my face.”

“I’m going to fall!”

“You’re not.”

“How are you skating backward like that?” She didn’t notice this time as everyone else whipped past. “We’re going to crash.”

“Will you relax?” He made the turn at the end at just the right point. “Now we can speed up a bit.”

“No!” She laughed anyway at the feel of the ice moving faster beneath her feet. “Blake!”

“Here come your parents, ready?” He pushed them further apart, crouching as her parents made the same pass over her head as before. “You’re getting it.”

“I hate skating.”

“Aww, skating it fun!” He turned lose of one arm, gliding so he was by her side. “Don’t think about it, just keep doing what you were doing. Now, just like running, we’re going to take this turn.”

“I don’t want to get you hurt.”

“You won’t.”

“I’ll knock you over!” She tensed up but made the turn. “I did it? I did it!”

“Good. Now, on your own!”

“No!” She tried to grab him as he slipped away.

“Catch me!”

She slowed down, watching him skate off, turning to glide backward before turning again to make the curve at the far end. Her brother and sister skated past and then Matt and Daisy before Stevie decided to at least try and do it on her own, arms out to keep her upright. “Blake, at least skate with me!”

She could hear his laughter across the rink and then he was at her side again. “Fine. But you have to skate.”

“Okay.” She put her hand out. “Hold my hand though?”

“Fine.” He took it, tugging to pick up speed again. “If you want to really feel like you’re flying, close your eyes.”

“What?”

“I won’t let you get hurt. Close your eyes and just trust how I guide you.”

“No.”

“Stevie…”

She huffed. “Fine.” Once her eyes were shut, she was momentarily terrified before paying attention to how different it felt. “Woah.”

“I know, right?” He laughed again.

She opened her eyes, looking at him. “Don’t let go.”

“Never.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Secret Santa Exchange

“Who do you have?” Matt whispered, coming up behind Blake at his desk, startling him.

Blake frowned. “You do understand the concept of a Secret Santa, right?”

Matt huffed, tossing his head back. “I need to trade with someone and this sucks.”

Blake’s only response was one brow arching up.

“I thought I could’ve rigged it and gotten Daisy; you know?”

“You’re kind of taking the secret out of things there, Matt.”

“Who do you have?”

“I’m not telling you.”

“Will you trade with me?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because I already know what I’m going to buy. I have the whole thing planned out.” The idea had come about after a perhaps ill-advised Halloween night of drinking, but the senior staff had decided to liven up the often unpleasant days leading up to Christmas with a gift exchange on Christmas Eve before they all headed home.

“Of course you do.”

“Matt, it’s not complicated. You have known whoever it is for years, just go think.” He waved him off.

=MS=

They’d roped one of the other assistants into being the one responsible for collecting and then placing the gifts in the Secretary’s office. Blake had already mentioned to her no giving in to anyone’s needling for details. Walking in the next morning, he bypassed his normal path to look into the other offices, not surprised that Matt and Daisy were already there. “Ready?” The day was going to be a wash unless some country decided to act up and none of them were even interested in pretending otherwise.

“I so am!” Daisy laughed. “I plan on doing nothing today but eating and opening presents.”

“Is Jay here yet?”

“Nope.” Matt answered. “But I saw Nadine already head down the hall to the Secretary’s office. How much you want to bet that she’d secretly a peeker?”

“I think everyone’s secretly a peeker.” Daisy responded, collecting her things. “Let’s get in there, the others will be here soon.”

The three of them entered the Secretary’s office, Nadine and the Secretary were both already in there. “How did you get in without me knowing?” Blake demanded, making her laugh.

“Tradecraft, Blake. Where’s Jay?”

“He’ll probably be irritatingly punctual, just to make us wait to start the festivities.” Matt commented. “I’m ready for cookies.”

Nadine rolled her eyes good naturedly. “No cookies till we’re all here, but… I suppose you could take a candy cane from the tree in the conference room.” She’d been keeping him away from them all month, so there was no surprise when he was off like a shot through the doorway.

When Matt returned several minutes later, it was with a handful of candy canes and Jay. “Look who I found.”

“You are not planning on eating all those yourself, are you?” Nadine pointedly asked.

“Of course not! I got one for everyone.”

“Gifts!” Elizabeth interrupted whatever he was going to add. “Let’s do gifts and then we just have to wait on the food.” She waved for them all to take seats and then began to dig through the pile on the table. “Let’s see… This one is for Daisy, and Matt…” She got all of the presents passed around. “Come on, then we can get to the other presents.”

“Other presents?” Jay questioned.

“I know we all also got other things for everyone, hidden away at our desks.” They all looked around guiltily. “These first. Jay, you go first.”

Everyone was working on their candy canes as one by one each of them opened their presents. It was supposed to be kept under a certain dollar amount, so none of them were expecting anything grand.

Jay received a new tie and tie pin, sharing his appreciation for both. “These are great, thank you.”

Matt found a tin of homemade butter cookies in the box he opened, stuffing one into his mouth immediately. “Thank you! I am always down for cookies.”

Daisy first opened a handmade card which she gushed over, the little flame on the front moved so it looked as if the candle was flickering, as well as a gift card to a coffee shop she favored. “Thanks guys, this is precious. I think this card is nicer than anything I got last year.”

Blake opened his next, shocked to see a Playbill to Kinky Boots inside. He’d gone over the summer and saw the show, but work had called him away before he’d had a chance to wait at the stage door for autographs. He’d been bummed to have an empty space beside the window card, but this one, it was signed by the cast he’d seen at the time. “Wow! This is… this is great! Thank you!”

Elizabeth went next, laughing when she pulled out a bottle of scotch, remembering the joke they all often shared. The team had discussed before that they saved the high quality stuff for themselves and kept the drinks cart stocked with cheap scotch for anyone else.

The last one to go was Nadine, who very precisely worked the wrapping paper loose, grinning when they all groaned at how much time she was going to take. “Eat your candy canes and let me do this my way.” She chided, teasingly. Eventually, she lifted out a small card with a note typed in it and then a box of spiced tea. “Oh, this will be wonderful with how cold it’s been.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Matt jumped in, making everyone laugh and roll their eyes. “Now, who bought what? I’ll go first, I bought Jay’s gift.” He looked Daisy’s direction.

“I bought the Secretary’s.” She turned to the Secretary.

“I had Nadine. Which is why it was store bought and not something homemade.” She laughed.

“Who next?” Matt pointed at Jay.

“I had Daisy. And yes, I made that card myself.” He grinned as they all expressed how impressed they were. “It’s a little skill.” He shrugged.

Nadine put her hand up slightly, jumping into the cheerful fray. “I had Blake.”

“You got these signatures for me?” He was shocked.

She nodded. “On my last visit. I knew how upset you were about not getting your signed.”

“So, wait.” Matt interrupted again. “You gave me the cookies?” He asked Blake.

“Yes. I made the cookies.”

“Dude! You’ve been holding out on me! These are delicious!”


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First Christmas- White House

Henry stared at the men standing in his office. “I need to what?”

Everett, the Head Usher, frowned. “It’s customary that the first…spouse… always picks the theme of the trees and then poses and presents them for the nation in early December. It sets the tone for how the entire Country celebrates for the year and it holds a lot of importance.”

“But… normally the first spouse is a woman.” He gave a somewhat bashful laugh. “I’ve never been the one to do any of our trees, Elizabeth and the kids have always done them. And, we used a lot of handmade ornaments and things that were sentimental to us.”

“It is your job, Sir. As First Spouse. I know you’re quite busy, but we can’t upend tradition because you’ve never had to decorate a tree before.” Henry could see the man was gearing up to express his frustration with Henry’s general lack of bother over traditions…again.

“Okay. I’ll think of a theme. Give me a day or two.”

“A day or two then.” Everett nodded, turning and leaving, his small team of staff following in his wake.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Henry rocked back in his seat a second before pushing to his feet. His wife might be the leader of the free world now and a little busy, but she was still the woman who turned their home into Christmas for the better part of three decades.

The halls of the White House were busy as Henry cut through, stopping in Blake’s office to see if his wife was free. “Busy day?”

The younger man didn’t even fully glace up. “Exceptionally. I was about to call you and cancel lunch, actually.” When Henry didn’t comment, Blake finally looked his way. “What’s up?”

“I was hoping she’d have some free time.” Almost a year in and Henry knew it would be a dead giveaway that something was going on.

“What’s wrong?”

“I was just accosted about picking themes for the Christmas trees.” When it was apparent that Blake didn’t see the problem, he carried on. “Elizabeth has always done our trees. Themes, decorations, all of it. It’s always been her.”

“Ah. And you were hoping she would take charge again.”

“I was hoping, yes.”

“Well, I doubt you’re going to see her before eleven tonight and as much as I try to avoid it, she will likely have a call at six tomorrow morning so you might get her at noon tomorrow, but this week I can’t really do better than that.”

“I understand.” He turned to leave, reluctantly accepting that once again, the thirty or so feet that often separated he and his wife felt like a thousand miles.

“You know… there could be one idea you could work with.” Henry turned back to see Blake staring at him. “I know she likes the nostalgia of Christmas. She isn’t so much into the flashy, bright stuff, do you… do you have photos of previous years? Like, going back to when you two first met?”

Henry nodded. “Probably.” They had always taken tons of pictures.

“Why don’t you find them and bring them down. She has another long NSC meeting at four, but I could probably cut it a bit short and give you ten minutes or so to see if there’s anything from the pictures that could be turned into a theme.”

It was an olive branch, Henry was used to trading a lot of those with the other man, it was what kept both of their worlds moving. “Okay. I’ll go look.”

At four thirty, Henry found himself back in Blake’s office just as the younger man frowned. “I don’t like the look of that.”

“I popped my head in. It doesn’t look promising, I’m sorry.” Henry could see clearly that he really was sorry he wouldn’t be able to dig even ten minutes out of Elizbeth’s schedule.

They found themselves having this conversation often, especially since the move. Very little of Elizabeth’s days were ever her own. “It’s okay. I appreciate you trying.” He sagged as he turned to head back upstairs, wondering if he could get ahold of the girls and get their opinions.

“Henry, wait.” When Henry turned back again, Blake had his hand out. “Show me. I’m sure between the two of us, we can figure something out before Everett bursts a vessel waiting for an answer.”

=MS=

Henry tugged Elizabeth into the room filled with trees. It was late, well past midnight, but it was the first time in days they’d had much time together where they were both still awake.

“Oh, Henry!” She slowly did a full circle, staring at all the trees. “These are beautiful! You picked all this yourself?”

“Yes and no. You really like it?”

“I love it.” Her fingers touched various ornaments, landing for a moment on a tiny wooden rocking horse. “This is like the one we had when Stevie was a baby.”

“I know.” When she looked up in surprise, he smiled. “I didn’t know what to do. Everett was pushing me to crate something and I wanted your input, but you’ve been so busy lately.”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

“I had pictures of all the trees you’ve ever decorated, so I used them to make something up. So, in a way, you helped pick the decorations.”

“This is…” She turned again. “This is the most wonderful thing ever, Henry.” When he stepped up and wrapped his arms around her, she turned her face up to accept a kiss from him. “It reminds me of home.”

“Good. I wanted it to be something you loved.”

“I do love it.” She rested her head against his chest. “It’s perfect.”


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Snowed In- State Department

“Uh, Ma’am?”

Elizabeth looked up, the nervous tone to Blake’s voice already setting her on edge. “What’s up?”

He pointed over his shoulder at where Matt and Troy were standing in the doorway. “They need a word.”

“Come in.” She sat back in her seat, wondering what brought her detail upstairs. “What’s going on?”

“It’s the storm, Ma’am.” Matt frowned. “They’ve advised everyone stay off the roads. We’re in lockdown here until the weather clears.”

She frowned. “But it’s Christmas Eve.”

“I’m sorry, Ma’am.”

Her attention moved back to where Blake was still hovering in the doorway. “Blake?”

“Yes, Ma’am?”

“Who is left in the building?”

“Um, I believe the building is almost entirely cleared.”

“Almost?”

She didn’t miss how his eyes flicked away. “Security said they’ve cleared all floors except… except this one. Matt and Daisy left a while ago to try and catch their flights, but the rest of us are still here.”

Her brows rose. She hadn’t seen Jay or Nadine in hours. “Just the four of us then?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Her pen dropped to the desk. “Thank you, Matt, for letting me know. I guess we’re all staying here until the weather clears then.”

“We’ll be downstairs if you need anything, Ma’am.”

“Thanks.” She watched them leave before looking at Blake again. “Where are they then?”

“They?”

“Jay and Nadine.”

“Oh, um… In their offices. Would you like me to go and get them?”

“I will. I’m officially declaring work over. If we’re going to spend Christmas Eve here together, we should at least try and enjoy it.” Standing, she headed for the door. “See what you can scrounge up for us.”

“Right away.”

Elizabeth stopped at Jay’s open door first and knocked. “I’m sorry you’re stuck here tonight.”

Jay looked up slowly. “It’s no big deal.”

She frowned. “How so? It’s Christmas. I thought you’d be upset about missing out with Chloe.”

“Abby took her to her parents’ house.”

“Oh. Well, then… Work time is over. We’re going to sit and relax and do… something. I don’t know what yet.”

“We?”

“Rumor has it that we’re just down to you and I and then Nadine and Blake. Though I haven’t seen Nadine in a while.”

“She’s down there.” He nodded toward the far end of the bank of offices. “May not want to go down there though.”

“Why’s that?”

It was Jay’s turn to frown. “She’s been a bit quiet today.”

“Ah. Well, I’m still going to go at least invite her to join us.” Pushing off the doorframe, Elizabeth cautiously headed for Nadine’s office, not seeing her at first. Elizabeth finally spotted her sitting on her small couch, feet up on the table, and a glass in her hand. Pushing the door open, she couldn’t help notice the way Nadine didn’t even bother turning to see who it was. “Nadine?”

“Yes, Ma’am?” She still didn’t look up. Her voice was thick.

“We’re snowed in until the storm passes. Security thinks we’ll be here at least until tomorrow morning.”

“Okay.” Her voice was soft.

“…Nadine?” There was silence this time. “Are you okay?” Still no answer, so she entered the office, biting back a gasp when she saw Nadine’s red-rimmed eyes. “What’s wrong?”

She watched her swipe away the moisture from her face. “Fine, Ma’am. Nothing for you to worry about.”

“I- Well, I sent Blake to find some food or something and talked to Jay. We’re going to sit in my office and just enjoy being together and talk about things that aren’t work. Would you come join us?”

Nadine shook her head. “I think I’ll stay here, if that’s okay with you?”

“Of course. If you change your mind…”

“Okay.”

Back in her office, Elizabeth was settled on the couch, shoes off and a blanket over her lap when Jay and Blake turned up, the latter carrying a tray of drinks.

“I found things to make hot cocoa.” He grinned. “Add a bit of whiskey and it’ll be a proper Christmas treat.”

“Whiskey? Where’d you find whiskey?”

Jay held up a bottle as he trailed Blake to a seat. “My file drawer.” They all laughed. “Now, how much of tonight do we wish to remember?”

=MS=

“Wait! Wait!” Jay tried to cut off the laughing. “So, we’re standing there on the stairs and we’re looking at him, caught halfway down and holding onto the railing for dear life, right? And no one is willing to go help him because, you know, we don’t want to fall on our asses. But there’s this one reporter who I guess was the short straw for the day and he’s on the sidewalk at the bottom, eyes like saucers.” Jay held up his hands. “If he went down the rest of the way, the poor reporter was taking the full hit.”

“So-” Elizabeth gasped between bouts of laughter. “What happened?”

“Finally, he was able to get his feet under him. He made it down the stairs without falling and the rest of us went back in and out through the side entrance like I’d suggested to begin with.”

“That’s why Russell never seems to like you?”

Jay shrugged, a grin on his face. “Maybe.” He sipped his drink that was mostly whiskey now.

“I have one.” Blake grinned.

Elizabeth paused, staring at him a second. “Don’t you dare, Blake Moran.”

His grin grew.

“I can fire you; you know. Don’t do it.”

“You wouldn’t last a week without me and we all know that.” He turned his attention to Jay. “I went to UVA at the same time she taught there, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I need more alcohol for this.” Elizabeth rose and fetched the bottle, topping up her glass before carrying both back to her seat. “I can’t believe you’re about to do this.”

“Like, everyone knew that the Professors McCord had lunch or coffee every single day together. The Poli Sci building is across the campus and up a hill from Religion, so she had to walk around this big quad and down a set of stairs to cross over.” He smirked. “Depending on the time of day, sometimes it was easier to skip the stairs and walk down the hill.”

“Right.” Jay looked between them.

“It’d been snowing, hard, so everyone was sticking to the sidewalks. But you know how she is about getting to Doctor McCord, always in a rush.”

Elizabeth blushed.

“I was just coming out of class, a minute later and I would’ve missed the best part. She tries for the hill, slips, and slides clear to the bottom. Even got an applause.” Jay laughed, but Blake held up a finger. “The applause wasn’t for the slide though. Not entirely anyway. No. She had this skirt on to her knees… It did not stay around her knees.”

“Why did I hire you again?”

Blake laughed. “Because you love me. And you need me.”

“Hm.”

Blake looked around and then at his watch. It was late now. “Any idea where Nadine got to? She never came in and it’s not like she can sneak home.”

Jay’s smile fell. “She was pretty upset about something earlier.”

“When I went to invite her down, she was crying.” Elizabeth admitted.

Placing his glass on the table, Blake sat back. “Should we go try again? Normally I’m home alone, so this is actually kind of nice. I know you two are used to being with family though.”

“You don’t go see your family?” Jay questioned.

“We don’t do Christmas. I usually get up to their house on a weekend for Hanukkah, but it’s… Christmas is different.”

“I never knew that. I’m sorry if us always carrying on about it makes it weird for you.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m used to it. And I do like all the fun office stuff we do, even if I’m not doing anything myself.” He attempted to shift the subject. “What big plans are you missing this year?”

=MS=

The building was quiet now. Laughter and loud talking had died away hours ago. She crept through the halls, stopping occasionally at a window to stare down at the silent, snow-covered world below. Something in the silence felt right, felt good.

She loved it when it snowed.

The moon was visible in the clear sky, though the stars were partly obscured by the light pollution of the city. Finding her coat and things, she pulled them on before skirting her way to the roof access door and walking up, remembering the brick in the doorway so she could get back down.

The roof was coated in a deep layer of undisturbed white. She was thankful for her tall boots as she crunched her way to the edge and looked out. The roof was one of her favorite places to be, especially at night. It’d always been a place of reprieve, of solace.

The icy air stung as she inhaled, making her feel alive. When she exhaled, her breath hung in a cloud for a moment before vanishing into the darkness.

A creak of hinges and then crunching alerted her to someone eventually joining her on the roof. When they stopped behind her, their cologne told her who it was. “How’d you know I was up here?”

She heard him pull in a breath and then let it out. “We got a call when the door opened.”

“Ah.” She’d forgotten they’d sensored the door.

“It’s beautiful up here.” She heard his teeth chatter a moment as he shivered. “Freezing… but beautiful… We missed you earlier.”

She turned enough to see him over her shoulder. “I wasn’t much in the mood for it.”

“Everything okay?”

She wasn’t sure how to answer that. “Christmas is hard for me… Some years it hits harder than others I guess.” It was her turn to shiver against the cold wind.

“We should go in.” His face was already turning red from the wind, she didn’t doubt hers was as well.

“Not yet.” She turned back to face out over the city, catching the middle of her upper lip between her teeth a moment. The door creaked again, and the crunching footsteps were slower, more purposeful. She crossed her arms and leaned against the cold concrete, rocking up onto her toes. “And tonight, with no traffic the world is just so… silent. Like the whole world is at peace. I just want to enjoy it.”

There was a muted shuffle and then crunching before his body was on her right. He rested his right arm on the wall and then let his left cross her back. Almost instantly she felt warmer, both from his arm and from the small amount of wind he blocked from hitting her.

A moment passed, silence fell again just as the snow did and then the other person crunched forward, mirroring Jay’s position until they were both tucked against either side of her.

“Then we’ll wait with you.” Blake whispered.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gingerbread Houses

“It won’t stick together!” Alison cried out in frustration, laughing still. “I don’t understand, Mom! Why won’t it stick?”

“You could just do it my way.” Jason joked, showing off his gingerbread house that looked more like a ramshackle shack. “It’s not like anyone has to live in it.”

“But I want it to look nice!” Ali groaned. “This icing is all messed up.”

“Yeah, Mom, it’s too soft.” Stevie held out the bag in her hand as if to prove her statement. “Can’t you do something?”

“Me?” Elizabeth laughed. “It’s what came in the box.” When both girls protested again, she groaned, reaching for her phone. “Let’s look it up and see what we can figure out.” After a minute of searching, she opened her messages and sent one seeking help. Several replies came back, most of which expressed concern that she was cooking. “Does everyone know I can’t cook?” She absently asked, making her kids laugh. “Okay! Okay, I’ve got it. We need to put the icing back in a bowl and mix powdered sugar into it to make it harder.”

“Really?” Stevie sounded surprised. “Sounds easy enough.”

“Yes. Apparently that’ll do the trick.”

Stevie dug out the powdered sugar and did as instructed. “And yes, Mom, everyone should know by now that you can’t cook. It’s for their own safety really.”

“I’m not that bad!” When all three kids stared at her, she laughed. “Well, none of you have died yet.”

Once the icing was back in the piping bags and the houses were being built, Ali popped a gumdrop in her mouth. “So, who’s suggestion was it to add the sugar?”

“Hm? Oh, Nadine’s. Everyone else was just ribbing me for being near anything remotely associated to cooking. Apparently she makes gingerbread houses.”

“That’s cool.”

Her phone beeped again, and Elizabeth tapped the message open. “She offered to come help you after I mess them all up.”

All three kids laughed.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Russell really loves Christmas.

Elizabeth rushed into Russell’s office and froze.

She blinked, mouth agape, and turned slowly, taking in every inch of what she’d just walked in on. There wasn’t a single surface, horizontal or vertical, that wasn’t touched.

“Uh, Russell?” She finally completed her full circle and stared at him. “What’s… this?”

He looked up from his desk, glanced around, and then looked back at her. “What’s what?”

“What happened to your office? Did someone… prank you or something?”

He laughed. “What? No!”

“Then… What the hell happened in here?”

“What do you mean? It’s December.”

“I get that… I really do… But, Russell? Isn’t this a bit…much?”

“…No?”

She couldn’t think of anything else to say. The room was overwhelming. The windows were decorated with fluffy fake snow that must’ve taken hours to meticulously apply and the glass, every single pane of glass on the entire exterior wall, was covered in snowflakes. There were snowmen and santas and reindeer everywhere. The mantel over his fireplace now sported a row of different sized stocking, some with little pandas or candy canes sticking out of them. A tree took up the far corner.

He raised his hands as if he were confused by her reaction. “It’s Christmas. Isn’t your office decorated?”

“The common area are… But not my office. And… nothing like this.”

“Why not?”

“What?”

“Why not? I thought you liked Christmas.”

“Apparently not as much as you do, Russell.”


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nutcracker Ballet

“What’s wrong? You’re not about to leave, are you?” Abby was frowning at him when Jay looked up from his phone.

“No.” He shook his head. “Nothing like that. From the Secretary on down swore that the world could literally end, and they still wouldn’t drag me in tonight.” He looked toward the room filled with dozens f little girls in tutus. “She’s all set?”

Abby drew a breath. “I think so. Look at her, Jay. She looks so happy.” She leaned into him. “This was a good idea, getting her into ballet lessons. And now her first Nutcracker.”

“Which she’s in for like five minutes.”

“So? She’ll remember being on stage, not for how long.” His phone beeped again, and her eyes dropped to it. “If they’re not calling you in, then why is your phone going off?”

“Oh!” He beamed at her. “It’s not any of work. Chloe will be dancing to an audience of her own tonight. Nadine’s here. She, um, she goes to see The Nutcracker every year, normally in New York, but when I mentioned Chloe getting to do this one when I spoke to her on the phone a few weeks ago, she bought tickets.”

The surprise was obvious on his ex-wife’s face. “She traded seeing a professional company for a bunch of kids who’ll probably forget half the steps?”

Jay shrugged one shoulder. “I think she trade seeing it professionally for watching the girl she considers her granddaughter performing.” He looked at the screen of his phone. “I should go at least say hi. You and Chloe are good back here?”

“We are.”

“Okay. Text me if you need anything.” With a nod, Jay slipped out the side door into a hallway and walked around and into the house, looking around for the section mentioned in the text. After a minute, he spotted a familiar face. “Nadine!” When he got close enough to hug her, he spotted a large bouquet of flowers in the seat beside her. “What are those?”

“For Chloe, after the show. Every dancer deserves a proper bouquet after a performance. Especially their first.”

“She’ll be so happy.”

“Is she excited?” Her eyes drifted to the stage. “I think The Nutcracker is such a wonderful ballet, the story never gets old. I see it every year, have for… decades, but this one… I think this one will be my favorite.”

“Because Chloe’s in it?”

She nodded. “I remember as a girl, being so excited to get up there and perform, knowing my parents were in the seats. A part of me, as I got older, I guess dreamed of the day I would get to watch proudly, but…” She trailed off a moment but picked up again. “I’m proud of her, and of you and Abby for running her to class and paying for everything she’s needed. Now. You should go back and take care of whatever is left to do.” She shooed him away. “I plan on sitting here in eager anticipation and then proudly watching Chloe dance.”

He chuckled. “Okay. Just- remember, it’s only kids. Don’t get your hopes up too much.”

“Jay… it’s children. It’ll be one of the best performances I’ve ever seen.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unexpected guest

The files in their laps had been mostly forgotten as they talked. Matt was already dreaming of food. “My mom’s already started cooking. It’ll be three days of nonstop eating so she can ‘fatten me up’, it’s gonna be great!”

“We’re taking Chloe skiing.” Jay shook his head. “I have no idea how that’s supposed to work. We’re seeing Abby’s family on Christmas and then driving for two days to this resort that’s nearby to try our hand and skiing.”

“Good luck.” Matt laughed.

“Just don’t come back with a broken leg.” Elizabeth added. “I need you to do too much running around here for you to be on crutches.

“I will do my best, Ma’am.”

Daisy was about to share her holiday plans when Blake appeared, nervously hovering on the edge of the group. “Um, sorry to interrupt?”

“What is it, Blake?” Elizabeth squinted up at him, not taking her glasses off.

“It’s… for Nadine.” He frowned, turning to pull the door closed before coming back.

“What is it?” Nadine asked.

“There’s someone here for you. They say they’re your sister?”

“What?” It came out so high and sharp, Jay winced and shook his head. Nadine was already on her feet. “My sister? Are you sure?”

“Well… She does look like she could be your twin.” He turned in place as she neared the door. “She said, um, she said she was here to force you to spend time with family over the holidays.”

Nadine huffed. “Yes. That sounds like my sister.” She turned and looked back at the others and then Blake again. “Where is she?”

“My desk.”

“Let me go deal with her, Ma’am, I’ll be right back.”

“Or, Nadine? You could just take off for the day. You should go spend time with your sister, have a nice few days off.”

They all heard her scoff.

“And bring her in and introduce her before you go.” When Nadine turned back again, Elizabeth grinned. “You have about two minutes and then we hunt you down. And who knows what kind of mischief we’ll get up to then.” The others laughed.

“Fine.” Opening the door again, Nadine drew a breath and turned toward Blake’s desk. “Ruth? What are you doing here?”

She watched her sister whirl around, giving her a mock frown before grinning. “Well, on the phone you said you were too busy for travelling to us, so I thought we could come to you.”

“We?”

“The kids and I. So, I came by to get the key to your place so we could wait till you get off work.” Her eyes wandered the office. “This place is like a fortress, Nadine. I thought they’d never let me up here.”

“It’s meant to be a fortress. You shouldn’t have been able to get up here.” She sighed. “Come on, my key is in my office. I’ll get it for you.” She started leading the way. “I don’t know how late I’ll be though, and you have to understand, I’ll probably end up coming in at least part of tomorrow.”

“What? Why?”

“Well… Two of my coworkers will be out of state for several days and two others, they’ll be several hours drive away. The Secretary has family, so she’ll be with them all day. I’ll be here managing anything that comes in while they all celebrate.” At her office, Nadine waved her to a seat. “Sit. Let me get the spare.” She pulled open a drawer. “I need it back though.”

“Of course.” Ruth looked up at her. “So, what do you have at your place, then, for Christmas?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“I’m never there.” She would’ve thought that much had been obvious over the phone. “I’m not even sure I have enough of something there to make dinner.”

Ruth tipped her head and narrowed her eyes. “So, what were you having for dinner tonight then?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’d probably have something brought up here or I’d just…”

“…Just what?”

“Not bother at all.” She was gearing up to defend her choices, she was an adult, when Blake popped his head in.

“Just a, uh, warning? The Secretary is counting down in there until you either come back or she comes here. I was sworn upon my future happiness to not warn you.” She arched a brow at him, and he carried on. “Frankly, Nadine, she might be able to fire me? But you could make it so I never work again.”

“Thank you, Blake.”

When the door closed, Ruth turned back to her. “I like him. He’s sweet… And cute.”

Nadine rolled her eyes. “You’re going to have to go grocery shopping and everything you know.”

“Decorations?”

“Those too.”

“Nadine…” She sighed. “Why do you hate Christmas so much?”

“I don’t hate Christmas! I just… see no point in all the pageantry when I’m going to be...”

“Going to be what?”

“Alone.” She placed the key in her sister’s palm and then headed for the door before she could comment. “Come on. If we wait for them to come to us, there’s no telling what they’ll say or do.”

“They’re your coworkers, how bad can they really be?”

That made her look back. “You have no idea.”

=MS=

It was well after dark by the time Nadine found herself leaning against her door as she unlocked it. The afternoon, after Ruth had finally left, and been a constant stream of things that needed finished before the holiday. It was almost enough to make her forget her sister and nieces were on the other side of the door.

Almost. But not quite.

Turning the handle, she expected that by now everyone would’ve figured out where they were sleeping. Her condo wasn’t exactly meant for so many people, but they’d work it out. She expected maybe a small tree and a clear plastic box of grocery store cookies. Maybe a cute nutcracker if her sister even remembered she used to love, and collect, those many years ago.

When the door swung open, Nadine’s bag slipped down her arm as she simply stood and stared. Stepping in, she looked around the otherwise empty room, shutting the door and wondering how they managed to pull it all off.

There was a tree. A fresh one, by the smell of it. It was so tall and full the star on top touched the ceiling. The branches were filled with loops of gold ribbon and red bows, all shimmering against white lights. Her book shelves and entertainment center were decked out as well and, once she made it as far as the kitchen, it appeared they’d been busy baking. Three different kinds of cookies, cooling on racks she was certain she didn’t own, covered the counter.

“Aunt Nadine!” She turned just as her nieces wrapped her in hugs.

“Merry Christmas, girls. Did you do all this?”

“Well, Mom helped. It was fun. We were so excited when she told us you invited us at the last minute to spend Christmas with you.”

“She told you that?”

The girls nodded. “We planned out all of tomorrow! I mean, unless you already had something planned?”

She couldn’t deny the eagerness in their eyes, the happiness that was so plain to see over simply being at her place for the holiday. It made her wonder why she ever denied taking the time in the past. “No. I have no plans.” She hadn’t expected to have a full house for Christmas, but now that they were here, she was glad to have them.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Christmas miracle

Henry listened from the kitchen as his wife came through the front door. He could make out in the way she dropped her things and the dragging click of her heels that it’d been a long day. By the time she made it to the doorway, he was holding out a glass of wine.

“Oh, bless you, you wonderful man.” She took the glass and sipped from it.

Laughing, he pulled her into a hug and then a kiss. “Long day?”

“Very.” She sighed into him until the kids came down the stairs. “But. I am one hundred percent off work for the next forty-either hours. Just me and my babies. No interruptions.”

“Mo-om!” Stevie complained. “You can’t say stuff like that!” They all laughed.

“But I worked it all out.” She tried to defend her confidence. “It’s two days, that’s it. I mean, can the world really fall apart that much in two days?”

Alison tossed her hands up. “We’re going to end up with no Christmas, Mom! Stop!”

“They’re right, Babe, you’re about to jinx it.”

“I’m not jinxing anything. I’m trying to explain that I talked it over with my staff and there is literally nothing that can come up that will ruin our time together.”

Jason shook his head. “That’ll be a Christmas miracle then.”


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Snowed in- Jay/Nadine

Jay tossed his phone aside with a sigh, turning when Nadine entered the room. “That was diplomatic security.”

“…And?”

“And they are saying the roads aren’t passable. They’re not even going to try to drive the Secretary, or anyone else, out until after sunrise so they can safely see the roads. They’re also advising we stay put and not try to make it elsewhere ourselves.”

“Oh. Well.” He watched her look around the small cabin. They were already at Camp David, the advance team that had gone out ahead of everyone else. Even the support staff for the property had been held up by the weather. “Then I guess we better sit tight.” She turned, staring out the French doors at the world of white. Wind was blowing so hard the snow was creating massive drifts against the building.

He could almost see her working out whether they could get to the main building for supplies. “I really think we should stay here. If one of us got hurt out there, there’s no help coming.”

Her nod was slow, contemplative. “You’re right.” She turned to face him. “Then what do you suggest?”

He shrugged one shoulder. “We could light the fire, that’ll keep it warm in here. There’s wood under a tarp out there.”

“You know how to set and light a fire?”

“Hey, Matt wasn’t the only boy scout.”

=MS=

Nadine heard herself giggle and wondered if it wasn’t past time to put her glass down. The sun had set hours ago, though the snowing hadn’t stopped. Giant, wet flakes still swirled down from the sky. A fire roared in the fireplace and she and Jay had taken refuge on the sofa in front of it, under a pile of blankets he’d dragged from the next room.

She leaned further into the crook of his arm, head on his shoulder. “You know, this isn’t so bad really.”

“No?” She felt as he turned to look down at her.

“Just you and I, snowed in here for who knows how long. Seems a bit…like fate.” She tipped her head up, smiling up at him. “What do you think?”

“I think… I think I thought I was doing a better job of hiding my feelings.”

One side of her mouth curved into a half smile. “You mean I wasn’t supposed to notice those long glances?”

“No. You weren’t.”

A shiver ran through her body, either from the chill still in the air or the intensity of the moment.

“Are you still cold?” He pulled her closer as her free hand wrapped around his back.

Nadine finished her wine and passed him the glass to set on the table before she slid that arm around his chest. “I could use a bit more warming up.”

=MS=

The fireplace had long gone cold, not that she was feeling the chill in the air now. They were still together, wrapped in blankets, in the couch with Jay on his back and she cuddled against his chest. The room was bright now with sunlight reflecting off the snow.

“Good morning.” Jay softly greeted, twisting so he could see her face. “Looks like the snow stopped.”

Nadine blinked at the windows before snuggling back into him. “So it did.”

“We should probably get up?”

“Not yet. I’m sure we have time to do a little more warming up before we need to move.” She shifted, covering his body with her own before pressing a kiss to his lips. “I hope we can see where this goes from here? This wasn’t just because we were stuck here, was it?”

“N- no. You were right… I’ve wanted this for a while.”


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Christmas Announcement
> 
> Okay, don't blame me for this one. I have assorted voices who help me get into all sorts of trouble (and I swear, they aren't all in my head!)

Stevie peeked through the space in the mostly-closed bedroom door. “Dmitri? Are you ready for your present?” It was Christmas morning, they were about to head to the White House to meet up with her family, but first they were going to do their own gift exchange. Their first as newlyweds.

“I’m ready!” When she stepped out of the bedroom, she found him on the couch, a large present at his side and a big grin on his face. “Who goes first?” He looked at the box and back to her. “Come here and sit. You should open yours first.” When she was close, he pulled her into his side.

Nervously, Stevie put the gift in her hands to the side and accepted the one he offered, opening it to find a gorgeous hat and scarf set. “This is beautiful.”

“I’m glad you like it.” He pressed a kiss to her lips.

Placing when she’d wrapped into his lap, she kissed him again “I love it. And I hope you love your gift just as much.” Anxiously, she watched as he tore the paper, opened the lid of the box, and then just stared.

“What- what is this?”

“It’s- it’s a pregnancy test and a- a onsie, for the baby. I’m pregnant. Here is the tiny ultrasound they just gave me.” She held up the grainy black and white image as she beamed with pride. “Isn’t that exciting? We’re having a baby!”

Dmitri didn’t move or look up. “How long have you known?”

Her excitement waned. “A couple weeks. I- I’m about ten weeks along. The doctor said I should be able to hear the heartbeat soon.”

“We didn’t discuss kids, Stevie.” He stood, crossing the room. “Do you have any idea what kind of cruel world exists out there? To bring a child into that? This is something we should have talked about and I would have told you I didn’t want that.”

“It- It’s not like I did it on purpose. It’s a happy surprise.”

“Happy? Do I look happy?” He huffed. “And now… And now we have to go spend the day with your parents and not say anything.”

“Wait. Why not?”

“We can’t tell anyone until we have decided what will happen.”

“What will happen? I’m having a baby, Dmitri. That’s what is going to happen.”

“You said, it’s still early-”

Stevie put her hand up, standing to search for her coat. “Don’t finish that. I can’t- just don’t talk. I’m leaving.”

“But what about your parents’ thing? We have to leave soon!”

“You can just go without me!” Not even bothering to pull the coat on yet, Stevie headed for the door and vanished out into the cold.

=MS=

Stevie shivered against the frigid wind. She pulled her coat and scarf tighter. It was Christmas Day, so there was very little traffic around as she rushed down sidewalk after sidewalk, unsure of a destination. Her heart ached over Dmitri’s reaction to the news and it made her wonder what else they didn’t agree on.

Turning another corner, she realized her feet had carried her to a familiar part of the city. She tightened her scarf again and drew a breath, wondering why her life never seemed to go right.

=MS=

Once past security, Dmitri walked on his own through the wide halls and up the stairs to the private residence on the second floor. He could already smell the food and hear the chatter of the rest of the McCords celebrating.

Carefully, he stepped through the doorway and hesitated, waiting to be noticed.

“You’re here!” Elizabeth cried out, rushing over to wrap him in a hug before pulling back and looking around. “Wait, where’s Stevie?”

“Uh. She got called into work for something? She said it would only be for an hour or two.”

“On Christmas?”

He shrugged. “I guess people in need don’t take a holiday.”

Both Henry and Elizabeth eyed him suspiciously but seemed to accept that answer. Dmitri was, in that moment, thankful that both were familiar with jobs that never took a day off. “Well, come find something to eat and get settled then. We’ll just have to catch her up on the fun when she gets here.” Henry pulled Dmitri further into the celebration.

=MS=

Now that she was inside a warm apartment, Stevie sniffled. Her face stung with the change in temperature. She shifted her weight from foot to foot, nervous once again as she watched Blake hang her coat across the back of a chair and then putter around in his small kitchen and then hold out a glass of wine to her. “I- I can’t drink that.” She ducked her head, looking for a moment everywhere else in the small apartment before looking at him. “I’m pregnant.”

He put the glass on the counter, a look of utter joy and surprise filling his face. “That’s wonderful!”

Her shoulders slumped. “I thought so.”

“Hey. What’s wrong?”

“I- I made this present for Dmitri?” Tears welled up in her eyes. “I put in the pregnancy test and this cute little onsie and stuff. That was his present this morning.” She sucked in a breath. “He freaked out. He doesn’t want kids. He- he said because the world is so cruel and then… Then he said we couldn’t tell my family because we had to decide first what we were going to do about it.” The apartment dipped into silence. After a minute, she risked looking up at her friend.

“As in…”

She shrugged. “I didn’t ask and I didn’t let him finish. I left and started walking. That’s- that’s how I ended up on your steps. I didn’t know where else to go, not today.”

“Okay.” She watched as he turned away, carrying the glass of wine to the other counter and opening the fridge, pulling out juice instead. “I’m sure some of it is that it was a surprise. I can’t fathom how I’d feel on the spot if I were suddenly told I was about to be a father. I’d hope I’d be excited right off the bat, but I think I’d be pretty terrified too. You both just need a little time and then to sit down and talk.”

“I bet Griffin wouldn’t have yelled at me and suggested I get rid of it.”

Blake’s brows shot up and he bit back a laugh. “I don’t know. Well… not yelled or…that… but anyway-” His phone cut him off before he could continue.

=MS=

“Maybe we should just call and see how long Stevie will be?” Elizabeth stood, reaching for her phone. “It’s odd that they’d call her in today.”

Dmitri began to panic. “It’s- she’s not really at work… I- I lied about that part.” He watched as Henry and Elizabeth both turned to stare at him. “We had a fight. She stormed out of the apartment and I haven’t seen her since. I- I thought maybe she’d come here.”

“Okay…” Henry leaned forward in his seat. “What was the fight about?”

He stared at his hands. “The topic of having kids came up this morning.” He missed the way Elizabeth reached out and clung to Henry’s shoulder. “We haven’t talked about it yet. I- I don’t want kids, not after the things I’ve been through and seen, but Stevie… Stevie wants kids. Really, really wants kids and we… we had a fight. I don’t know where she is now.” He was still staring at his hands when the couple exchanged a look.

“Well, I’ll try her phone then.” Elizabeth decided.

“You can’t. She left it when she left. I- I don’t think it was on purpose, but… I found it in the kitchen after she’d gone.”

Henry turned at looked at his wife, hoping she had a fresh plan.

“I’ll call Blake. He might be about to tell us where to look.” When Dmitri made a small, irritated sound at the other man’s name, she ignored it. For now. Dialing, she waited for the line to connect. “Hey, Blake. Look, I know it’s Christmas, but we have a small situation and I was wondering… would you have any idea where Stevie would’ve walked to? She and Dmitri had a fight it seems, and she left without her phone.”

Blake turned, glancing at Stevie. “She’s here, Ma’am.”

“What?”

“Yes. She turned up on foot a bit ago. Would you like to speak to her?” He pled to Stevie with his eyes when she harshly shook her head. “I’m sorry, Ma’am, she doesn’t seem to be in any state at the moment to speak on the phone.”

Elizabeth frowned, glancing to the two men still seated. “Excuse me a minute.” Once she was closed into the bedroom, she addressed Blake again. “Dmitri said they had a fight.”

He was still staring his friend down. “That’s what I heard as well.”

“About starting a family?”

“Ma’am?”

“Blake, be honest with me… Is Stevie pregnant?”

He paused, pressing his lips together. “This isn’t a subject I am comfortable being involved with.” He didn’t miss Stevie rolling her eyes. “Stevie walked here, Ma’am. I’ll drive her over to the White House shortly.”

Elizabeth huffed. Her next words were mostly to herself. “Why can’t they just _talk_?”

“All due respect, not all couples are you and Henry. In fact, most couples are not you and Henry. My advice, Ma’am, is to keep out of it.”

“You know, the more years we get between us, the more you sound like Henry.” There was a prolonged pause. “Fine. Wait, Blake? Is she okay?”

He glanced back at Stevie, looking her over. “Physically, yes.”

“Okay. Well, bring your appetite, one you get all the way here, you might as well stay.”

“I wouldn’t want to intrude on family time, Ma’am, there’s no need for me to stay. I’ll bring her by and then let you enjoy the day, just the family.”

Across the room, Stevie’s eyes lit up as she caught on to what her mother must’ve suggested, folding her hands together and pushing her lip out in begging.

“You are family, Blake.” Elizabeth turned toward the closed door as if she could stare through it. “I’ll let Henry know you’ll be staying. I’ll see the two of you soon.”

Once the line disconnected, Blake dropped the phone to the table and stared at Stevie. “Your mom wants me to stay for dinner.” He watched her bounce on her toes and shook his head. “It’s a bad idea. You and Dmitri need to talk this out and me being around isn’t going to help.”

“It’s fine. I’m not getting rid of the baby, so I don’t know what else there is to talk about. It’s not like I went and got pregnant on purpose.” She looked at her coat a minute before digging in a pocket, pulling out the now crumpled ultrasound. “It was a surprise, but it’s still a baby.” When he gently took hold of the corner of the small picture, she looked up at him. He was smiling again.

“I bet it’ll be a girl. She’ll look just like you.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You’re the oldest, your mom was the oldest, _her_ mom was the oldest. I don’t’ know any further back, but that’s three generations of women who were all first born. _And_ all looked just like their mothers.” When she chuckled and leaned into his side, head on his shoulder, he wrapped his free arm around her back. “It will work out, Stevie. And you’re going to be the best mom ever. I have faith in you.”

=MS=

Elizabeth paced the bedroom until Henry stepped in, shutting the door behind himself. “She’s at Blake’s.”

“Well, that’s good I suppose.” The relief was obvious on his face.

“Until Dmitri finds out that she ran straight to him.” She frowned again. “Blake was evasive about her being pregnant.”

“I see.” He drew in a deep breath and let it out, taking a seat on the bench at the end of their bed. “Is she coming today then?”

“He said he’ll bring her over. I told him he might as well stay for dinner.”

“Let me guess, he refused?”

Elizabeth nodded. “Henry… a grandbaby?” She couldn’t help being excited over the prospect.

“You can’t go jumping all over her about this. If they need to talk it over first, you need to not say anything if they don’t.”

=MS=

Blake awkwardly followed Stevie into her apartment.

“It’ll only take me a second to change. Here, this is the last gift I got for my parents, everything else is already over there.”

He frowned at the small box when he accepted it. “Stevie… is this a baby announcement?” He studied her. “Are you sure this is wise if the two of you still need to talk first?”

“I’m already pregnant, there’s no changing that.”

“I think you should wait.”

She ignored him, opting to close herself into the bedroom to quickly change. When she reappeared, she caught him staring again at the ultrasound she’d placed on the counter, a look she couldn’t describe on his face. “You can have that copy if you want.” When he looked up and took a step away in surprise, she crossed to the counter and held it out. “They gave me a bunch of copies when I asked for them.”

He shook his head. “That’s okay.”

Stevie picked it up and held it out to him. “Please? For me?”

Blake stared at her and then the thick photo paper. “Okay.” He looked around. “Are you ready?”

=MS=

When Stevie came through the door, Elizabeth rushed to her, wrapping her in a big hug before pulling back, eagerness in her eyes. She watched as her daughter glanced first to Dmitri and then back again before giving a tiny nod. Elizabeth’s face lit up as she whispered. “I’m so happy for you.” After they hugged again, she let her daughter go and looked to the door again, expecting to see Blake.

Stepping into the hall, she found him at the top of the stairs. “Hey, you should come in.”

Blake shook his head. “Not today.”

Elizabeth pulled the door shut and joined him by the stairs. “I already told Henry you were staying.” She didn’t miss how he looked to the door she’d exited from. “Are you worried about Dmitri? I really don’t understand why you two seem to struggle to get along, Blake. But you are family and you belong here with us, not sitting alone. Please stay for me?” She watched him debate.

=MS=

Stevie took a seat at Dmitri’s side. “I’m sorry for walking out.” She tried to lean into him, but he didn’t pull her close this time.

“We still need to talk about this.” He shook his head. “I think your parents already know, but that doesn’t change my opinion.”

“It’s too late to change anything about this.” She reached for his hand. “Blake thinks it’ll be a little girl, wouldn’t that be nice? A little girl in pigtails running around?”

He pulled his hand away. “You told him already?”

Stevie stared at him. “It was nothing.”

She watched him scoot away, putting extra inches between them. “We should enjoy today. We can talk about all of this later.” He frowned. “Telling everyone doesn’t change my mind, Stevie.”

“And if I don’t agree?”

He was silent until the door opened again, then he leaned over, whispering his answer. “Then I guess you’re on your own. Merry Christmas, you’re having a baby all by yourself.”


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Twelve Days of Christmas

**_One the first day of Christmas…_ **

“Ma’am?”

“Yes, Maggie.” Nadine stopped and turned on her path up the hall.

“This was sent up for you.” Maggie held out a small, wrapped box.

“Oh! Thank you.” She accepted the small box and backtracked to her office. Butting her folders down, she looked it over. The wrapping paper was plain green and it had a red bow, but there was no name on the tag except her own. Carefully, she unwrapped the paper and then lifted the lid off the box, finding a soft gray scarf rolled up inside.”

“Who’d you get a gift from?”

Nadine looked up, finding Jay leaning in her doorway. “It didn’t say.”

“An admirer huh?” He grinned. “Good for you.”

=MS=

**_One the fourth day…_ **

“Another one?”

Nadine wasn’t surprised to hear Jay ask it. He’d quickly worked out that the mystery presents were arriving at about the same time each day and he’d begun turning up shortly after. “Yes.” After the scarf, she’d gotten a soft pair of gloves, a hat, and now a pair of earrings. “They keep showing up and I still haven’t the faintest idea who they are from.” She frowned. “It’s a bit concerning.”

He laughed. “It’s Christmas, Nadine, it’s a harmless admirer.”

“You’re right.” She turned the box around to show him. “And they are pretty.”

He stepped into her office. “Are they real?”

=MS=

**_On the Tenth day…_ **

“You could save the assistants the trouble and just wait downstairs.” Nadine teased Jay, who was working on paperwork sitting on her sofa.

He grinned. “And take away their job?”

She rolled her eyes playfully.

“It’s sweet, Nadine.”

“It’s creepy.”

It was his turn to roll his eyes. “Have any of the gifts been worrying? You know, overly personal or suggestive?”

She hated to admit, they hadn’t been. While they had all bee things she liked so far, nothing had spoken of a concerning level of knowledge of her. “I suppose not.”

Before he could as anything else, Maggie appeared in the doorway. “Ma’am?” A telltale green gift with red bow was in her hand.

Nadine held her hand out to take it waiting for Maggie to leave before working the paper open. Today’s gift was a book. “You’re right. Nothing nefarious.”

Jay shrugged. “One more day and then I bet you’ll find out who your admirer is.”

“And I’m guessing you want to be here for that too?”

“Someone should be there to be happy for you, Nadine. You can’t live your life in a social bubble.”

=MS=

**_On the twelfth day…_ **

Nadine was glad to have Jay waiting with her, though she wasn’t willing to admit it. If he was right, then this gift Maggie had just left would tell her who her admirer was. There’d been no looks, no ideas or hints anywhere as to who it might be. No one had shown extra interest in her gifts when she wore them.

Swallowing back her nerves, Nadine carefully lifted the lid off her box and leaned in to look. “Huh.”

She felt Jay lean in as well. “That’s it?”

She lifted the necklace out and searched the box and paper. “Still no name. That’s… odd. Right?”

“It is odd.” He admitted. “The necklace is pretty. What is that?”

“A garnet.”

Jay looked at her in surprise. “You know that for sure?”

Nadine nodded. “It’s my birthstone.” She lifted the pendant up to the light. “And I’d say it’s real. This is… beautiful.”

“Your admirer really likes you.”

The sinking gut feeling from the first few days returned. “It seems so. And I still don’t know who it is.”

He patted her shoulder. “I’m sure they’ll make themselves known, Nadine.”

“Yes. I’m sure.”

=MS=

**_On the thirteenth day…_ **

Stretching across the driver’s seat, Nadine dropped her bags into the passenger seat of her car, shivering against the icy wind.

“Nadine. So good to see you wearing the scarf and hat.” She didn’t recognize the voice and backed up, straightening to turn and face the person. “Wouldn’t want you to get cold.”

She didn’t recognize the man standing only a few paces away. “I’m sorry, have we met?”

His gaze went stony. “I’m the one who sent you all those gifts, which you so gladly accepted.” He took two stepped toward her, trapping her in the open door of her car. “I really should get you out of the cold. Wouldn’t want someone as precious as you getting sick out here.” The man grabbed her wrist, pulling her toward him.

=MS=

Elizabeth strolled into the conference room and paused, taking in the quiet murmurs and one noticeably vacant chair. “Where’s Nadine?”

“Um, she hasn’t turned up, Ma’am.” Blake softly answered. “And I can’t reach her on her phone.”

“You tried again?”

He pressed his lips together, swallowing before giving a small nod. “I’ve been trying every ten minutes since she didn’t arrive on time this morning, Ma’am.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To Be Continued....


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt- Gift confusion
> 
> I am putting it up early because I will be tired and will forget. So- an early gift.

Henry dug through the bin of wrapping paper and bows, looking for a bag. “Babe?” He called out down the hall.

“Yes?” Elizabeth called back.

“Do we have gift bags?”

“Um, yeah. I bought some when I was out. They’re in the shopping bag in the closet.”

“Okay, thanks!” Henry found the bag and pulled out one along with some red tissue paper. Checking to be sure his wife wasn’t going to come in just then, Henry pulled out the gift he’d bought his wife, tucking it into the bag and covering it with the paper before jotting down a quick note and leaving the bag on the dresser. He planned on giving that gift to Elizabeth privately.

With a grin of anticipation, he headed downstairs to make coffee.

=MS=

Rushing around the room, Elizabeth grabbed her blazer and pulled it on, searching for her other earring as she piled up the folders she’d been reading the night before and adding them to the stack of things she had to take with her for the day. “Crap.” She muttered to herself, remembering at the last moment the gifts for her staff. Most of them were downstairs already, but she’d finished up the last one only this morning. Grabbing the gift bag and adding it to the growing pile, she rushed down the stairs.

At the office, Elizabeth delivered each gift bag personally to her staff along with a heartfelt thank you for all they did all year. Over the course of the day, she had most of the staff in thanking her for their gifts. By the time she was ready to leave that night, only Nadine hadn’t dug out from under her pile of work enough to open hers. “Don’t stay too late, Nadine!” She called out as she passed her office. “Go home!”

“I will be shortly, Ma’am.” Nadine called back.

“You better be!” Elizabeth laughed.

=MS=

The fire in the fireplace was almost out, the room warm. Henry pulled his wife close now that they were alone. “I have a gift for you to open tonight.” He pressed a kiss to her jaw. “It’s just for you and I.”

“Oh really?” She rolled into his body, one hand wandering. “Should we open it upstairs then?”

“It’s upstairs already.” Henry stood, puling her to her feet. “Come on, let’s go see how much you like it.”

Elizabeth giggled, following him up the stairs. “I bet I’m going to love it.” When he nudged her onto the bed and then dropped the bag beside her, she let him guide her onto her back and begin making out with her.

Later, when Elizabeth opened her gift, they were both stunned silent.

=MS=

Finally home, Nadine dumped her things and carried the bag to the kitchen counter, setting it to the side before digging out a glass to our herself a scotch. The day had been long and, judging by the gifts the other had gotten, she expected she knew what was in the bag. All the other gifts had been simple yet thoughtful, just like their boss.

Bag and glass in hand, she headed for the couch and settled in, sipping her drink as she pulled the tissue paper out and pushed it aside. That it was fabric didn’t surprise her; everyone had gotten a different scarf along with something else small. This fabric was vibrant red, however, and much lighter weight than any scarf she’d seen before. Pulling it out fully, a small note fluttered into her lap as she held the item up.

The red fabric wasn’t a scarf at all, but rather a negligée.

Nadine blushed.

Lifting the small note, she scanned it, reading it twice.

_I saw this and immediately thought of what it would look like on you. I can’t wait to see it on you tonight.  
-Merry Christmas_

Nadine felt her blush deepen, warming her skin all over. She’d dreamed more than once about an evening between she and Elizabeth but had accepted that it’d never happen. But now… This… This was more than she could ever dream of.

Suddenly nervous, Nadine abandoned everything but the note and red fabric and headed for her bedroom, dropping her work clothes hurriedly onto her bed and pulling the negligee on. It fit perfectly. She stood in front of her full-length mirror and turned, looking at herself in it. Biting her lower lip, she shyly smiled at her reflection as she fluffed her hair.

Elizabeth did say she wanted to see her tonight…

Quickly, a plan formed as she rushed through a shower and then redressed, taking time to apply fresh lipstick just as red as the fabric and do her eyes, skipping everything else. Puling open her closet, Nadine searched for the shoebox holding a pair of towering heels that she’d bought and never gotten the nerve to wear. They’d been purchased on a whim but had been ridiculous to ever wear to a work event and she never went anywhere else.

Moving back to the mirror, Nadine appraised herself again, pleased with the effect. Loading an overnight bag with a change of clothes, she traded the heels for flats to drive in, found her best coat, and left her apartment.

See her is exactly what Elizabeth would get…

=MS=

“I don’t know what happened, Babe.” Henry looked desperately around the room. “I put your gift in a bag only this morning.”

“Wait. Where’d you leave it?”

“What?”

“Where’d you leave the gift?”

“On the dresser.” He waved in that general direction.

“Oh no.”

“What?” He stared at her, eyes wide.

“I thought that was one of mine.” She cringed.

The house line chose that moment to ring and Henry reached for it. “What could security want at this hour?... Hello?... What? Okay, we’ll be down in just a second.” He hung up and turned to his wife. “Babe? Whose gift was this?”

Elizabeth frowned. “Nadine’s. Why?”

“She’s out front.”

“Oh my god.” She rushed off the bed, shoving the gift back into the bag and carrying it downstairs as she followed him to the door. “This is so embarrassing, Henry!” She whispered it. “What do I even say?”

“Just ell her it was an honest mistake.” He whispered back as he reached for the handle, pulling the door open to greet Nadine. “Good evening, come in.” Henry took in the way Nadine was dressed as he shut the door behind her. Neither of them could miss the way it looked like her hair and makeup looked freshly done or how noticeably bare her legs were despite the below-freezing temperature outside, nor did they miss the towering black heels.

Nadine was blushing as she looked between them before averting her eyes, so she didn’t lose her nerve. “I got your gift. It’s… It fit perfectly.” She did her best to sound marginally seductive, hoping it was what Elizabeth wanted. “And the note. I hope I’m not too late.”

Over Nadine’s shoulder, Elizabeth mouthed the word ‘note’ to Henry and watched as his eyes widened and then raked over Nadine’s still coated body as he blushed. Suspicion flooded her mind. “We were actually not quite ready for you yet, Nadine. Why don’t you wait by the fire while Henry and I finishing getting what we need?”

That got Nadine to look her way. “My pleasure.” She sashayed passed in a way Elizabeth had never seen her move before.

Dragging Henry into the kitchen, Elizabeth whispered as softly to him. “What was in that bag?”

His blush deepened. “Sexy lingerie.” He nodded when her eyes widened. “I get the feeling that’s all she’s wearing under that coat and… that could be my fault.”

“How?”

“There was a note… Something about me being excited to see you in it tonight.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Babe. She’s going to be so embarrassed.”

Elizabeth thought a minute. “Unless…”

“What?”

She shrugged. “You know it’s a fantasy of mine and clearly she’s interested…”

His brows shot up. “Are you serious?”

Elizabeth nodded. “Why hurt her by telling her the truth?” She leaned closer. “Okay?”

Henry debated a moment. It was definitely a fantasy he was well aware of. “Okay.”

Cutting through the pantry, Elizabeth collected a bottle of wine before returning to the living room. “Henry’s bringing the glasses. I had this special bottle of red just waiting.” She didn’t miss the way Nadine’s face lit up. “How about we head upstairs and get you out of that coat?”

=MS=

Elizabeth had to admit, Henry had good taste. In nothing but the negligee and heels, the sight of her Chief of Staff made her mouth water. Her skin was one of the things Elizabeth found so sexy about her and now, between the red of the fabric and the black of the heels, it was all so beautifully on show. Moving to her side, Elizabeth fluffed Nadine’s hair, adjusting it so it framed her face. “And here I thought you were beautiful at the office. Now… Now you look downright perfect.” She watched her blush. “When was the last time someone told you how beautiful you are?”

“I- I don’t remember.”

“That’s a shame. You should hear it every day. May I kiss you?” When Nadine nodded, she caught her lips with her own. Cautiously, she brought her hands up, first just holding Nadine’s sides to keep her close. It was like a dream, having her standing here in their bedroom dressed like sin incarnate. “I want to take you to bed and never let you leave again.” She admitted once they broke apart. With the height of her shoes, they were almost the same height. “I’ve never seen those shoes before.”

“I, um, I’ve never worn them before. You like them?”

“I do.” Finally, she moved her hands around and cupped her breasts. “I like these too.”

A moment of nerves hit her, and she curled her shoulders in. “They’re so small.” It was soft.

“They’re wonderful. I love how pert they are.” Elizabeth circled her, looking over the way the fabric hugged her body, appreciating how it left not a single inch to the imagination. “Your whole body.” She reached around and ran one hand down the planes of her stomach. “Nothing but muscle under your perfect skin.” She pressed into her back. “What can we do to you tonight?”

“W- we?”

“Henry and I. What are you up for tonight? We have to remember the kids are all asleep in their rooms, but I want to make sure we treat you properly.” Her hand slipped lower, cupping Nadine, teasing her through the lace. “We could take turns fucking you till you can’t walk tomorrow… Tie you up and not let you come until we let you… What are you up for tonight?”

Both of those sounded good to her. “Anything.”

“Anything?” Nadine felt as Elizabeth’s other hand slipped down the valley between her ass cheeks. “Anything?”

“Not- not anal. Not tonight. Not with the kids in the house.” The hand moved, massaging one butt cheek. “But you could tie me up. Gag me… I’m yours otherwise.” She drew a breath. “I brought a bag, it’s in my car, I can stay all night. I’d hoped you would ask.”

Elizabeth couldn’t believe how eager Nadine was, especially after what must’ve been such a shocking surprise gift. She looked across to Henry and smiled. “I bet we could find something to tie you up with, but I have some other ideas of what to do with you first.”

=MS=

Her legs were trembling. Nadine was braced bent over the bed by her hands. She still had her shoes on and most of the red body suit. Elizabeth had unclasped the crotch of it and that was how Henry was fucking her now, his fingers gripping her hips. On the bed beneath her, Elizabeth was laying on her back, staring up at her. She bit into her lower lip, desperate not to cry out. She’d lost count of how may times they’d made her come so far, each time she came faster, and the sensitivity lasted longer. A soft whine started to come out with each thrust.

“Come here.” Elizabeth pulled her forward into a kiss.

Nadine wanted to cry out as Henry was pulled free of her body, but then her legs were being lifted, one at a time, until she was straddling Elizabeth and then she felt as Henry arranged his wife’s legs as well. She was at an angle now, her ass stuck in the air as Elizabeth carried on making out with her. They were so close together that she felt when Henry slid himself into his wife in one thrust, fucking her desperately, making her own walls flutter from the loss. She pushed her hips back, desperate to be filled again, shocked when two thick fingers sank inside, filling her again. Nadine could tell he was fucking Elizabeth in the same rhythm he was fucking her with his hand. She thought it was overwhelming enough, but then Elizabeth’s fingers found her clit and moments later, Nadine fell apart, coming so long and hard, she blacked out.

=MS=

The feel of strong arms lifting her made Nadine attempt to return to awareness.

“Shh.” Henry must’ve felt her move. “Elizabeth ran a warm bath.”

She could barely find the energy to hum in response. She’d lost count of how many times she’d come, had no idea what time it was. She was sated in a way she wasn’t sure she’d even been before. It took until they were in the bathroom for her to even realize she was now fully naked as she curled into Henry’s arms.

There was a soft chuckle from Elizabeth. “I think we broke her.” Fingers combed her hair aside. “I’ll get in with her just in case she falls the rest of the way asleep again.”

There was the sound of moving water and then Nadine felt as Henry stepped up onto something. “I think _you_ broke her.” Henry chuckled then. “I’ll get dressed and run get the bag she mentioned out of her car.” There was a pause. “The kids’ll be up soon you know.”

Nadine felt as she was carefully lowered into the bath, resting against Elizabeth’s soft chest. The water was warm, and she felt safe wrapped in her arms. “Not the first time we did a Christmas Eve all-nighter.” Elizabeth’s voice was soft against her ear. “We’ll start the coffee and let her sleep.”

“Lots of coffee. I’ll be back to lift her out in a bit.”

“You don’t mind? I don’t want you to hurt your back and have to sit out for the day.”

“She weighs nothing, Babe. I’m fine.”

The room went quiet after that and Nadine wasn’t even aware when she drifted off to sleep.

=MS=

The smell of food wafting in woke Nadine. Looking around as she stretched, she realized she was alone in the bedroom. Pushing up, she reached for her glasses to see what the time was, after ten already, and spotted her bag on the chair in the corner.

Her muscles ached as she pushed the heavy blankets aside and crawled out of bed, legs wobbly at first as she used the mattress to steady herself. Gathering the bag by the handles, Nadine made her way to the bathroom to get dressed.

Quietly, she found her way down the back stairs a half hour later, watching silently at the family enjoying their Christmas. She felt like an intruder in their celebration until Elizabeth spotted her and moved to her side with a grin. “Good morning.”

Forgoing any displays with the kids around, Elizabeth settled on a hug before tugging her into the kitchen. “Food. We can make anything, what are you in the mood for?”

“Oh, that’s okay. I really should be going.”

“Nonsense.” Elizabeth slipped her arm around Nadine’s waist. “Henry’s already started dinner and there are gifts to open.” She pulled away as one of the kids walked through. Once they’d gone, she leaned close again, fingers of one hand brushing the soft space between her hip and ribs. “Please stay?”

Nadine found herself nodding. “Okay. I’ll stay.”

Breakfast was in front of her quickly and then she enjoyed the small touches from both Henry and Elizabeth throughout the day until, finally, the kids vanished up the stairs with their things.

Elizabeth placed a gift bag in her lap. “This is for you.”

She was surprised there was more after the gift last night. A gift she was exceptionally thankful for. “You didn’t have to get me anything else.” She didn’t miss as the couple exchanged a look. Inside the bag was a soft scarf. Just like the others had gotten. “It’s beautiful. Really. But… Why…” She wasn’t sure how to ask it. “Not that I’m complaining at all, but why risk giving me the other one at the office?”

Elizabeth blushed this time. “The gifts got mixed up. I accidentally picked up the gift Henry’s gotten for me and gave it to you instead of this one.”

Her eyes nearly bugged out. “What?” She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. “Then why’d you go through with everything last night?” Mortified, she buried her face in her hands. “Oh my god! I’m so embarrassed now! Why didn’t you just tell me last night?!” A hand gently took her wrists and tugged her hands away.

“Because I’ve dreamed of you for ages and… and when I realized you’d walked in so eager to participate instead of angry for the mix-up, I couldn’t miss the opportunity.” Nadine watched as she drew a breath. “And I’d have you again in a heartbeat, Nadine.” She glanced to the stairs quickly before closing the space between them and tentatively kissing her. “Would you have us?”

She wanted to be reasonable and say no. She wanted to be reasonable and think of all the ways it would be a bad idea. All should could think of though were the orgasms last night, the way the couple seemed to worship her body over and over again, the care they’d shown as Henry had carried her to the bath and back. And Elizabeth had cradled and washed the sweat and come from her body. “Yes. I’ll have you whenever you wish.”

The smile on Elizabeth’s face was possibly better than any gift. “I wish to have you again, Nadine. Often. But…” The smile this time was sweet. “The kids will all be away for New Year’s Eve.”

It was a question; the ball was in her court. If she wanted this, really wanted it, this would be her chance to cement things even further than a single fling. “I’ll bring the silk ties…” It felt bold, she wasn’t sure how she would respond. “I’ll let you tie me up and make me scream.”

Lips crashed into hers, pushing her backward into the couch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas!!!


End file.
